Final Fantasy 7: Adventures in Equestria
by Kenny Rutter
Summary: An experiment by the Shinra Corporation sends Cloud and company on a rescue mission to another world, and while there they learn of a dark threat to the multiverse. Rated T for intense sequences of sci-fi/fantasy violence, mild language (courtesy of Cid, of course), and frightening moments.
1. Shinra's Experiment

SHINRA'S EXPERIEMENT

THE TERRAIN WHIPPED PAST CLOUD AS HE RODE HIS MOTORCYCLE DOWN the forest trail. It had been a long trip, going from the ruins of Midgar-he had gone to pay his respects, a lot of good it did those who died-and was on his way back to Edge when Tifa had called. She said that she and the others had been summoned to the new Shinra building in the center of the city and that they wanted Cloud to join them. Something about a new experiment.

Whatever the reason Rufus Shinra wanted Cloud there, he wasn't interested. He was only going because Tifa had asked him.

After a while, the forest began to thin, revealing the city. Cloud sped up, wanting to get to the Shinra building and get this over with.

As he rode, he thought about the events that had transpired over the past few years.

It all began when he met Zack Fair, a member of the Shinra Corporation's private army, called SOLDIER. Zack was a SOLDIER First Class, the same rank as Cloud's childhood hero, the might Sephiroth. Cloud met Zack on a mission to find out what had happened to Zack's mentor, SOLDIER First Class Angeal.

That mission ended in tragedy, with the death of Angeal, who had defected months earlier with his best friend, another SOLDIER First Class named Genesis.

Some time had gone by since, and Zack finally arranged for Cloud's childhood wish to come true-he would make Cloud a SOLDIER.

Cloud didn't remember much about the process. He remembered being put in a tank, a strange liquid filling the tank, and a great deal of pain. As it turned out, the pain was due to mako energy being pumped into Cloud's body, giving him greater physical strength and stamina than a normal human.

He wasn't sure just how long the process took-had it taken months, or had it taken years? He didn't know, and part of him didn't _want_ to know. All he knew was that the augmentation process had left him weak, and while he was in the tank, Sephiroth had gone mad. As it turned out, Sephiroth had learned of the dark secrets of his past, how he was genetically created using the genes of the calamity, Jenova.

Sephiroth attacked the mako reactor at Cloud's hometown of Neibelheim, killing his mother and father and severely injuring Tifa in the process. Zack tried to fight Sephiroth, but he was no match for the more experienced SOLDIER. Cloud finally got the drop on Sephiroth as he prepared to extract what was left of Jenova's carcass from the reactor, impaling him with the Buster Sword.

With their hero dead, the Shinra Corporation put a bounty out on Cloud and Zack, causing them to go on the lamb. They were on their way back to Midgar via hitchiking when they were attacked by Shinra's main infantry force. Zach hid Cloud-who had been weakened even more during the incident in Neibelheim-behind a large boulder and went out to meet the force.

By the time Cloud regained consciousness, the battle was over. The bodies of hundreds of Shinra infantrymen littered the ground, and on the edge of the ridge lay Zack, his body riddled with holes. With his dying breath, Zack passed the Buster Sword on to Cloud and asked his friend to live for both of them.

Seven years later, Cloud had joined an organization called AVALANCHE, who were trying to bring down Shinra for what they were doing to the planet. Shinra had become the largest corporation in the world due to their method of providing energy-they had learned how to tap into the spiritual essence of the world, the Lifestream and its mako energy, and the more energy they took from the Lifestream, the more they damaged the planet.

It was then that Cloud met Aerith, a beautiful young woman who lived in a church in The Slums. Shinra had been hunting her because she was the last member of a race called the Cetra-referred to by Shinra as the Ancients. Shinra eventually succeeded in capturing Aerith, with help from a mercenary group called the Turks. Cloud and his friends followed the Turks to Shinra Tower to rescue Aerith, and while doing so, Cloud learned that Sephiroth may still be alive.

Indeed he was, and he was still seeking to get revenge against all of humanity. His goal was to obtain the Black Materia which would allow him to use a technique called Meteor which would, effectively, destroy the earth.

As the last of the Cetra, Aerith believed that she was the only one who could stop Sephiroth from performing the Meteor, because she was in posession of the White Materia and the power it contained-the power of Holy, the light of the planet. But before she could use Holy, Sephiroth struck her down, impaling her through the back.

After what seemed like months, Cloud and his friends finally confronted Sephiroth in the core of the planet and after a heated battle, Cloud delivered the final blows with his Omnislash.

Even so, this was not enough to stop Meteor. They were forced to watch helplessly as the large rock entered the planet's atmosphere.

And then, something amazing happened.

The Lifestream surrounding the planet swarmed the Meteor, stopping it from obliterating the planet. Sadly, the same could not be said for Midgar, which was destroyed as Meteor entered the atmosphere.

Two years later, a new city had been built and the world had gone back to its daily routine, save for one problem. A new epidemic was spreading, a disease called Geostigma. It was a strange disease, so mysterious that no one knew what caused it, nor did they know a cure.

Actually, there was one person who knew what Geostigma was, a man named Vincent, whom Cloud and the others had met in the basement of the Shinra Tower. According to Vincent, Geostigma was a disease born from Jenova's cells spread through the Lifestream after Sephiroth's death. The disease caused the body to overcompensate as it tried to fight it off, overworking the immune system and allowing room for other potent diseases to enter.

But Geostigma wasn't the only problem. As it turned out, when Sephiroth died, his soul separated into three different being called the Remnants-Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj. They were seeking Jenova's head to revive Sephiroth, and Kadaj-as Cloud learned-was his vessel.

After defeating the Bahamut that Kadaj had summoned, Cloud chased Kadaj and his gang into the ruins of Midgar. Two of the Turks, Reno and Rude, disabled Loz and Yazoo, while Cloud continued to chase Kadaj. After a heated battle, Kadaj absorbed Jenova's essence, becoming Sephiroth himself.

The battle was fierce, with neither Cloud nor Sephiroth backing down. During the battle, the two of them even used the ruined city as weapons.

Cloud found the fight to be draining, and though he tried to fight back, Sephiroth had the upper hand, until he asked Cloud what it was that he cherished the most. Cloud's answer?

"There isn't a thing I _don't_ cherish!"

Just as he had done two years prior, Cloud's Omnislash defeated Sephiroth. He disappeared, leaving a wounded Kadaj in his place. Kadaj tried to attack Cloud, but his wounds were too much for him, and he died in Cloud's arms.

As Cloud was fighting, a cure for Geostigma had been discovered-a pool of water in the old church. This water, as it turned out, was one of Aerith's abilities, called Healing Rain. The water cured the Geostigma of everyone in the city, and as Cloud found himself smiling for the first time, he spotted the spirits of Aerith and Zack and realized that he wasn't as alone as he thought.

And now, six months later, all was peaceful.

So what was it that Shinra was doing now?

Ten minutes later, Cloud pulled up to the new Shinra building. He shut off the motorcycle's ignition and lowered the kickstand as he got off. Ever the cautious one, Cloud opened the sides of his bike and took out three swords, sliding them into the sheaths he wore slung over his back before heading inside.

Cloud gave a recognizing nod to the receptionist, who told him that Rufus and his friends were waiting for him in the science wing on the fiftieth floor.

The elevator ride seemed to take forever, and the sappy elevator music wasn't helping much. All Cloud could do was lean against the back wall, his arms crossed and his eyes closed as he sank into deep thought.

After a while, the bell rang, signaling that Cloud had reached his destination. He stepped forward as the doors opend and turned left, towards the science wing. As he walked, he saw signs all over of the late Doctor Hojo, the man responsible for what was called the Jenova Project, the dark secret behind SOLDIER. While Cloud despised the man for performing unethical genetic experiments on his fellow humans, he also found himself being very grateful; had it not been for him, Cloud wouldn't have the strength to lift the Buster Sword or his new sword, the Fusion Sword, a sword made up of multiple blades combined together.

He finally reached his destination near the end of the hall. With one hand on the hilt of a sword, he opened the door, ready for anything.

He let out a quiet sigh of relief upon realizing that there were no threats in this room, just Rufus Shinra, a Shinra scientist, and his friends.

_Just what could be so important that they had to drag me, Tifa, Cid, Barrett, Vincent, and Yuffie into this?_ he thought.

"Well, you took your god damn time," growled Cid Highwind, an older man with a very sharp tongue-not to mention a very foul vocabulary. He had his teltale cigar in his mouth. In addition to his foul language and chain smoking, he was skilled with a lance, was a very smart man in the scientific field, and was one of the best pilots in the world.

"Eat me," Cloud said. "What's this all about?"

"Glad you asked," the scientist said. "Well, we here at Shinra have discovered the means for interdimensional travel."

"Wait a damn minute, sonny," Cid growled. "Inter-whatsit travel?"

"Interdimensional," the scientist replied, speaking slowly so Cid could understand. "Travel between the same location but in a different universe."

"All sounds like a crock of shit to me," Cid said as he stomped out his cigar and immediately lit another one.

"I assure you, it's legit," the scientist said.

"And besides, Cid," Barrett Wallace said, "after some of the crazy things we've seen, is that really such a surprise?"

Cloud never really admitted it out loud, but he really respected Barrett. He was a heavily muscled black man, his right hand replaced with a mechanical hand that could convert into a gatling gun. He was big and tough, but had a good heart, especially with his adopted daughter Marlene, whom Cloud could only assume had been left with a sitter while Barrett was here.

"This device," Rufus said, cutting off Cloud's train of thought, "was designed to open a rift in the universal walls and allow safe travel."

"Or it will once it's been perfected," the scientist said. "Yes, it will allow travel between worlds, but we don't know just how safe it will be."

"Well, knowing you bums, you probably need a guinea pig," Yuffie Kisaragi spat.

Of all of his friends, Yuffie was a strange one. Though she referred to herself as a ninja, she certainly wasn't dressed as such-a crop-top shirt and a pair of short shorts. Her black hair was barely shoulder length, and even though she wasn't dressed like a ninja, she certainly behaved like one; in battle, anyway.

Vincent had been leaning against a wall, his arms crossed. His blood red cape sharply contrasted the pristine clean walls of the laboratory, and Cloud could see his rifle in the holster strapped to his leg.

"If you need someone to test this device out," he calmly said, "then why not use one of your...willing soldiers?"

"At this moment, the device is too dangerous to test out on humans," the scientist said. "But we can give you a demonstration of its power to open dimensional doors." He made his way towards the device. "I must ask everyone to step back. There's no telling what might happen."

He waited until everyone had stepped back as far as they could before throwing the power switch.

Barrett wasn't aware, but Marlene had snuck into the building, leaving the sitter's shortly after he left. Fortunately for her, the sitter was rather ditzy, and wasn't paying attention.

Somehow, Marlene had beaten Barrett, as well as the rest of his friends, to the room where they were told to meet. Not wanting to get in trouble should someone spot her, she hid behind the large machine in the room.

Marlene had been waiting for so long she actually fell asleep behind the machine. It was the sound of the machine booting up that woke her. Now that she was back here, with the machine turning on, she was scared. She hadn't even bothered to consider that this machine might be some sort of weapon and that she might be in the line of fire or whatever it was that this machine did.

She curled into a fetal position, trying to make herself as small as she could as the machien continued to boot up.

And that's when the hole appeared.

It wasn't a hole in the wall, but rather, a hole in the air. Marlene could see a small village through the hole, a village made up of old fashioned houses.

That wouldn't have been so bad, if not for the wind. Marlene felt like she was being pulled into a tornado. She grabbed onto the machine, holding on as tight as she could, her grip loosening by the second. One by one, her fingers slipped, until she couldn't hold on anymore, and the wind pulled her into the hole.

"DADDY!"

Barrett's breath caught in his throat as he saw Marlene fly from behind the machine and into the hole, disappearing into it.

"Marlene!" he yelled as he ran towards the hole, jumping into it without a second thought.

"Barrett, wait!" Cloud called after him. "Damn it. Come on!" He rushed towards the hole and jumped through it, followed closely by Tifa, Yuffie, and Vincent.

"I just know I'm gonna regret this," Cid sighed as he stomped out his cigar. "Well, Geronimo!" He leaped into the hole.

"Are they nuts?!" the scientist yelled. "This thing hasn't been fully tested yet!"

As if just to troll him, the machine began to fritz out. Smoke billowed from it as it began to shut down, and the dimensional hole closed.

"Oh no. This is not good."

"Can't you just open that thing up again?" Rufus asked.

"I'm afraid not, sir, not until I can fix this thing. And I don't know how long that will take. Wherever they are, they may be there for a very long time. All we can do is pray for their well-being."


	2. A Whole New World

A WHOLE NEW WORLD

MARLENE'S HEAD HURT.

She didn't remember much after being pulled into that hole. She remembered watching as Barrett and his friends jumping through the hole to follow her, and then...nothing. She must have passed out , hit her head or something.

Slowly, memories began to come back, though they were still very fuzzy. She remembered hearing voices; it was impossible to tell how many voices she was hearing. She remembered the sensation of being moved, and then...what?

Her eyes fluttered open and she put a hand on her head. This was by far the worst headache she'd ever felt. Slowly, she looked around. She'd been placed on a bed, its mattress soft, and the blanket had been pulled up to her neck. There was a bookshelf nearby, its shelves filled with so many books Marlene couldn't count them all. Next to the bed was a basket, arranged to look like a baby's bed.

Thinking she was fit enough to stand, Marlene swung her legs over the edge of the bed and placed her feet on the hardwood floor. The wood felt cold against her bare feet. Her legs were a little stiff, probably due to her being off of them for an unknown amount of time.

There was a balcony in front of her. She walked over to it and looked down into what looked like a study; bookshelves on all walls, the shelves covered in hundreds-no, thousands-of books. Judging from the roof, it looked to Marlene as though this place was inside a hollowed-out tree, however that worked. The only furniture in the study was a couple of tables, one slightly larger than the other. There was a door to the left, leading to the kitchen.

There was one thing that Marlene found strange about this place-there were no people, at least not in here. The only form of life was a small creature, what looked like a horse, but smaller, with a lavender fur coat and a dark purple mane and tail, both of which had a magenta stripe running through them. The horse's hair was neatly trimmed, and Marlene could see a horn protruding from its head-a unicorn! And on the pony's hind quarters was a light purple star surrounded by smaller silver stars.

_And is that unicorn...reading a book?_

Marlene quietly made her way down the stairs, trying not to alert the horse. She didn't know what the horse would do, didn't know whether or not it would attack.

Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped into the study, the horse turned to her, and spoke.

"Oh good. You're awake," the horse said, its voice clearly female. "You were out for a while."

Marlene was left speechless. She'd seen some strange and scary things in her short life-Meteor destroying Midgar, the children infected with Geostigma being brainwashed by those strange men, the Bahamut rampaging through Edge, and she'd heard the stories Barrett always used to tell her. So why was it that a talking horse-a talking pony-was so shocking?

"You must have taken a pretty good knock to the head," the pony said. "You were unconscious when we found you."

"Wait," Marlene said. "Who's 'we'?"

"Oh, myself and a few other ponies," the pony said. "And I don't think any of us have ever seen anything like you before. You're a human, right? I've read about your kind, but never thought I'd ever get to meet one."

"Where am I?" Marlene asked.

"Ponyville, in the land of Equestria," the pony replied. She held out a leg, clearly as a human would hold out a hand, waiting for an introductory hand shake-or hoof shake in this pony's case. "My name's Twilight Sparkle. What's your name?"

Marlene didn't know what to think of any of this, but clearly this pony meant her no harm. Heck, she'd taken Marlene in and watched over her for however long she was unconscious. So Twilight Sparkle couldn't have been all bad.

Slowly, Marlene held out a hand and shook hand and hoof with Twilight. "I'm Marlene Wallace."

"Well, nice to meet you, Marlene," Twilight said. "What brings you here?"

Marlene tried to think, but all she remembered was seeing Barrett jumping through the hole after her.

"I'm not sure," she said. "I remember being sucked into some strange hole, and then I woke up here. Between then and now, it's blank. But I think my dad and his friends may have come after me."

"But you were alone when we found you," Twilight said. "And what do you mean by a strange hole?"

Marlene proceeded to explain everything that happened to her since morning-Barrett dropping her off at the sitter's, her sneaking off to the Shinra building, the machine turning on, being puled into the hole, watching Barrett and the others leap through the hole after her, and finally waking up here.

"I see," Twilight said, sounding thoughtful. "Are you sure there are others here?"

"I'm sure. And I'm sure they're looking for me right now."

There was a knock at the door. Marlene tensed up, getting ready to run if she needed to.

"Calm down, Marlene," Twilight said. She went over to the door and opened it. Standing there was another pony, this one a creamy yellow in color with a pink mane and tail. Unlike Twilight Sparkle, this pony wasn't a unicorn, but rather, had a pair of wings, like a Pegasus.

"Hi Fluttersy," Twilight said.

"Hello, Twilight," the Pegasus-Fluttershy-said, her voice soft and quiet. "I brought some medecine for the girl."

"Thanks, Fluttershy," Twilight said. "But I don't think she's going to need it." Sher jerked her head in Marlene's direction.

"Oh. I see," Fluttershy said. "How long has she been awake?"

"A few minutes. She just came to, actually. Want to meet her?"

"Oh, yes," Fluttershy said. Twilight stepped aside and let Fluttershy in.

Marlene didn't know what to make of this new pony. She was the same size as Twilight-about four feet tall-and while both ponies were actually cute, she was still a stranger in this place. What would this pony do to her? Granted, Marlene heard her say she'd brought medecine, but Marlene was still suspicious.

"Hello there," Fluttershy said. "I'm Fluttershy. I'm glad to see you're doing better than when we found you."

"I...I guess I should thank you, huh?" Marlene asked. She reached out and rubbed Fluttershy's head.

"Oh, no, don't thank me," Fluttershy said. "Twilight Sparkle was the one who watched over you."

"She says there may be others here," Twilight said. "Looking for her."

"Oh my," Fluttershy squeaked. "Your family is looking for you?"

"My dad and some friends," Marlene replied. "But why aren't they here?"

Before either Twilight or Fluttershy could say anything, another pony barged through the door. This pony had no definable features, aside from her curly pink hair and tail and the three balloons on her flank. Her fur was a lighter shade of pink than her hair, and had a panicked look on her face.

"Twilight, Fluttershy! There's something going on at Applejack's farm! She-" She stopped when she laid eyes on Marlene. She barged past the other ponies and hurried over to Marlene, speaking extremely fast. "Hi! My name's Pinkie Pie! We found you knocked out outside of town and Twilight offered to watch over you. So now that you know that my name's Pinkie Pie, tell me your name!"

"Pinkie Pie, this is Marlene," Twilight said. "She's a human from another world. Her family and friends are probably looking for her right now."

"Human?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Oh, I almost forgot! Applejack said she saw one near her farm!"

"Must be my dad!" Marlene cried. "Where's the farm?"


	3. Friends Old and New

FRIENDS OLD AND NEW

IT HAD BEEN ONLY A LITTLE WHILE SINCE THEY HAD GONE THROUGH THE hole after Marlene, and somehow during the transition between worlds, they had gotten separated. Tifa was alone now, the only signs of life being the sounds of the birds and a farm off in the distance, a town even further past that.

Tifa had been to the old chocobo farm on the outskirts of Edge, but this was different. There were no chocobos, just trees-apple trees, to be precise. A short distance away was a red barn surrounded by a picket fence.

_Maybe someone there knows where the others are._

The more Tifa walked, the less likely that became. She tried calling out for someone, but go no answer. Maybe this was just an abandoned farm? No, that couldn't be the case; there were signs all over the place that this farm was still active. So where was everyone?

Tifa stopped walking and clenched her fist. Between Marlene being pulled into this strange world, being separated from her friends, and not finding anyone who could help her, she was starting to get really angry. She turned towards the nearest tree and punched it, punched it so hard that the tree actually fell over. No surprise; while Clould had been genetically altered to be physically stronger than a normal human, Tifa was naturally that strong. Knocking over a tree was nothing for her.

"Hey! You!"

The voice came from behind her. She could hear a bit of anger in that twang. She tensed up, knowing that she had clearly made the owner of this tree angry.

"Sorry about that," Tifa said. "Just a little peeved." She turned around to speak to the tree's owner face to face, only to find a small pony standing there. The pony was about four feet tall, with orange colored fur and a bright yellow mane and tail, both tied into a pony tail at the ends. A picture of three apples was on her flank, and she was wearing a brown cowboy hat.

"Well, you just knocked over one of our trees," the pony huffed.

"Hey, I already apologized," Tifa said. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I'm talking to a horse."

"How the heck'd you do that, anyway?" the pony asked. "You don't look near strong enough to knock down a tree. Heck, not even my brother can do that, and he's the strongest pony in Ponyville."

Tifa turned back to what was left of the tree and examined the stump. It was jagged, a sign that the tree had been ripped out of its place.

"Most humans aren't very strong. Not to sound like I'm bragging, but I'm the strongest human without any genetic alterations." She turned back to the pony. "Um, my name's Tifa Lockheart." She held out a hand, but thought better of it. A horse shake hands-or rather, hooves-with a human? That would never happen.

She was about to pull her hand away when the pony put her hoof in it and started to voilently shake. "Well, a pleasure to meet you, Miss Tifa. Name's Applejack. No hard feelings about the tree, it was old anyway."

Tifa finally managed to pull her hand away. This horse was pretty strong; that shake had left Tifa's arm sore.

"So, what brings you here, Tifa?" Applejack asked.

"Well, I was on my way here with some friends to help my friend Barrett save his adopted daughter Marlene when we got separated."

"Whoa whoa whoa," Applejack gasped. "Are you looking for another human?"

"Yeah. A little girl, about seven years old."

As soon as Tifa said, that, she heard someone call her name, a small voice, the voice of a little girl. Before she could do anything, she was tackled by Marlene, jumping onto Tifa and wrapping her arms around her.

"Marlene?" Tifa asked, shocked. "Thank God you're okay. We were so worried about you."

"Tifa, where's my dad?" Marlene asked. "Wasn't he with you?"

"He was, but we got separated," Tifa replied. "I haven't seen him or the others since we went through the portal after you."

The smile Marlene was wearing on her face slowly faded away. Tifa didn't know where Barrett was; so who did? Had he even come to the same world? The hope that she was holding, the hope that Barrett was here and would find her quickly, was dashed.

Tifa put a hand on Marlene's shoulder. "Don't worry, sweetie. We'll find him."

"Yeah, I know," Marlene said as she wiped away the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"So, Marlene, who's your friend?"

Tifa looked behind Marlene, saw three more ponies; a purple pony with a horn on its head, a yellow pony with wings, and a light pink pony.

"This is Tifa," Marlene said. "Tifa, meet Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie. Twilight watched over me when I first got here."

The purple pony-Twilight Sparkle-waved a hoof at them. "It was nothing. Besides, we couldn't just leave her lying there."

"Well, thank you for looking out for Marlene, Twilight Sparkle," Tifa said.

"I was wondering how y'all were doing," Applejack said. "Name's Applejack. Glad to see ya back on your feet, little missy."

"My head still hurts a little bit," Marlene said, rubbing her forehead. "I think I bumped my head on the way here."

"Oh crap!" Tifa yelled, catching Marlene and the ponies by surprise. "How could I be so stupid? Just call them on my phone!" She reached into her pocket and took out her cell phone, flipped it open and dialed Cloud's number. "Come on, Cloud. Pick up." But instead of getting the usual ringtone, all she got was a dial tone. A quick look at her phone told her that she had no bars, no signal. "Damn."

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'm not getting a signal on my phone," Tifa replied. "This world must not support cell phone use." She closed the phone and put it back in her pocket. "Come on, Marlene. Let's go find Barrett and the others."

"We'll go with you," Pinkie Pie said excitedly. "I want to meet your friends! Let's get going!" She started hopping away, but stopped and turned around when she noticed no one else was coming. "Well? Aren't you coming?"

"Pinkie, we don't know where they are," Twilight said. "They could be anywhere in Equestria, not just Ponyville. They could be in Canterlot, the Everfree Forest-"

"Heck, they could even be all the way in Appleoosa with Cousin Braeburn," Applejack added.

"And besides, what if some of them are...mean?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"They're not mean," Marlen assured her. "You'll like them."

"Let's go," Tifa said. "I think we've got a lot of ground to cover. Let's start at the forest. Which way is that?"

"Oh, I don't think it's a good idea to go into the Everfree Forest," Fluttershy said. "It's really spooky in there."

"How bad could it be?" Tifa asked as she started to walk.

Fluttershy shook her head. Maybe Tifa was right, maybe it wouldn't be that bad, but Fluttershy and the other ponies had seen too many scary things in the Everfree Forest to take it lightly.

Cid was on his tenth cigar in less than an hour. Yuffie rolled her eyes as they walked down the forest trail. Everyone had been telling Cid that his chain smoking could make him sick, but Cid just blew them off. After all, he'd been smoking for most of his life, and he wasn't showing any signs of disease. Yet.

"So, Cid, you believe in interdimensional travel now?" she asked, hoping to start up a conversation. They had been quiet since they got here, wherever here was.

"Well, we definitely went somewhere," Cid replied. "Don't look like no other dimension, though. Looks like any old forest. Nothing special."

Yuffie checked her phone for the tenth time. Still no bars. Maybe they were just in a dead zone.

"Look, let's just find Marlene and the others and get the hell outta here," Cid growled.

Before Yuffie could say anything, someone screamed.

The ponies had their reservations about the forest as they led Tifa and Marlene out of town. At first glance, it looked like any regular forest, though Tifa _did_ get a strange feeling from it. Something about the forest just didn't seem right; unnatural, even.

"So, this is the Everfree Forest, huh?" Tifa asked.

"Yup," Pinkie Pie cheerily replied.

"And you're sure we'll find our friends in here?"

"We won't know until we go looking," Twilight said. She started towards the forest. "Let's go, girls."

Marlene put her hand inside Tifa's hand as they followed Twilight. Her stomach started knotting; this forest just seemed...scary, like Fluttershy said.

Pinkie and Applejack were close behind them, but Fluttershy was hanging back.

"Um, maybe we shouldn't," she said. "This forest is...spooky."

"Oh, Fluttershy," Pinkie Pie said. "It's not that spooky. How many times have we gone in here for whatever reason?"

"She's right," Applejack added. "Nightmare Moon, Zecora."

"And don't forget how you talked down that cockatrice after it turned me and your chicken to stone," Twilight said. "Come on, Fluttershy; we know how brave you are. You can do this."

Fluttershy lowered her eyes. It was one thing to be brave when one of her friends was in danger, but Fluttershy never went out looking for trouble. She preferred to hang back, out of danger. And the Everfree Forest was the most dangerous and frightening place in all of Equestria.

"Please, Fluttershy," Marlene pleaded. "You and the other ponies know this place better than me and Tifa. We need you."

Fluttershy took a deep breath and pushed her shoulders back. "You're right," she said. "Okay. Let's do this."

Slowly, the group stepped into the forest.

The trees immediately seemed to block out the sun, making the forest seem darker than it should. Looking around, Tifa could see why the ponies could consider this place terrifying-looking at the trees, she saw some weird shapes that could almost be mistaken for monsters and demons. She saw branches that resembled arms and hands, bark designs that looked like the faces of demons. Her stomach began knotting in fear as they walked down the trail.

Something moved in the brush. Tifa turned towards the sound, her fists raised.

"What is it, Tifa?" Applejack asked.

"I heard something."

"M-m-maybe it was a m-m-monster," Fluttershy squeaked. She ducked down behind Pinkie Pie.

"Who's there?" Tifa yelled. "Come out, whoever you are!"

The brush rustled once more, and a large creature reared up. It was at least fourty feet tall, dark purple in color with what looked like stars sparkling on its coat. Its long tail dragged the ground. Its hands and legs ended in three large claws that looked like they could do some serious damage, and two large fangs protruded from its mouth.

Marlene hid behind Tifa, peeking out at the creature. "What is that?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"It's-it's an Ursa Major!" Twilight screamed. "It's gonna eat us!"

Tifa tightened her fists. "Not if I can help it."

"Y'all lost your cotton picking mind?" Applejack asked. "There ain't nopony who can beat a Major. A Minor, yes, but not a Major!"

"Well, I'm no pony," Tifa growled. "Marlene, stay back with Twilight and the others!"

She didn't even wait for Marlene to do as she said; she just charged at the Ursa Major.

"She's crazy!" Pinkie Pie yelled. "She's gonna get herself killed!"

The Ursa Major looked down at Tifa as she ran towards it. It roared, and raised its massive paw, ready to bring it down on Tifa.

Marlene turned away, covered her eyes, and screamed.

Tifa stopped as the Ursa Major started to bring its massive paw down, its claws ready to slice her to bits. She just stared at it, too afraid to move.

_Maybe this wasn't such a good idea,_ she thought.

The Ursa Major's paw was just about to come down on top of Tifa when it suddenly pulled back and let out a roar of annoyance and pain. A quick look told Tifa that its paw had been slashed. But by what? Tifa didn't have any bladed weapons, and the ponies certainly didn't. Did they?

She looked back, saw Twilight's horn glowing. Another quick glance showed Tifa the sharp branches that were also glowing and floating in mid air.

"Hey, how did you-?" she started to ask.

Before Twilight could answer, her horn stopped glowing, and so did the branches as they fell back to the ground.

"Sorry," Twilight breathed. "Couldn't hold it any longer."

"Tifa!" Marlene yelled. "Watch out!"

Tifa turned back to the Ursa Major, just as it started to swipe at her again. She ducked down and covered her head, though she knew it would do her no good; she was going to die, Marlene and the ponies were going to die, and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Heads up, girl!"

Tifa looked up, saw a large shuriken zip past, slicing the Ursa Major's paw, but instead of simply drawing some blood and annoying the creature, it sliced the paw clean off. Tifa followed the shuriken as it headed back to its source, Yuffie and Cid, standing in the bow of a nearby tree.

"Hey Tifa," Yuffie cheerily said. "Miss us?"

Cid leaped off of the tree, his spear ready, and brought its point down on the Ursa Major, driving it into the back of the large bear-creature's neck. The Ursa Major let out one last cry of pain before it began to fall. Cid pulled his spear out of the Major and leaped off, just as the creature slammed into the forest floor, dead.

Cid and Yuffie joined Tifa, who pulled the two of them into a big hug. "Yuffie! Cid! Great to see you!"

"You're just lucky we got her in time," Cid said. "Another second and you would have been a pancake."

Tifa pointed to Marlene and the ponies. "Hey, just trying to keep them safe."

Yuffie headed over to Marlene. She pulled the girl into a hug. "You okay, Marlene?"

"I'm fine, Yuffie," Marlene said. "Thanks to them." She indicated Twilight and the other ponies.

"Cute little ponies," Yuffie said. She reached over to Applejack and patted her on the head.

Applejack pulled away. "Hey! Easy with the hat."

"Ponies that can talk?" Yuffie asked. "Neat."

"So, where's everyone else?" Cid asked.

"Don't know," Tifa replied. "That's why Twilight and the other ponies brought us to the forest. We thought we'd find the rest of you here."

"Well, you found them, and they found you," Pinkie Pie said. "You found each other. Should we have a party for this? Yay, a party!"

"Uh, hold off on that, Pinkie," Tifa said. "This isn't all of them."

"Yeah, where's my dad?" Marlene asked.

"Don't know," Cid said, shrugging his shoulders. "You two are the first ones we've met up with since going through that damn hole." He pointed to the ponies. "And just who the hell are they? And just where the hell are we?"

"Come with us," Tifa said, putting a hand around Cid's shoulders-and trying to keep her face out of his cigar smoke. "We'll explain on the way back to Ponyville."

Cid rolled his eyes. "Ah. Shit."


	4. The Heartfelt Reunion

THE HEARTFELT REUNION.

AS FAR AS CLOUD COULD TELL, HE WAS IN SOME SORT OF PALACE. ALL OF the stained glass windows and the long hallway with the red carpet was actually making him feel uncomfortable. He never like places like this; they always bored him. Everyone was so uptight and had that "I'm better than you, my shit don't stink" attitude.

Cloud kept walking down the hall. There was a large double door just ahead; perhaps it led outside, where he could begin his search for Marlene, Tifa, and the others.

As he walked, he thought about what would happen if he didn't get to them in time. This was a world none of them knew. The dangers were unknown to them, and Cloud wasn't going to let any of them get hurt if he could help it.

_Too many people have died because of me._

Cloud was just about to reach the door when he heard a stern voice behind him.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

Cloud looked over his shoulder, saw two horses dressed in gold armor approaching him. Not sure what to make of them, he turned around and pulled out his sword, taking a fighting stance. The horses stopped, staring at his sword.

"Don't come any closer, unless you want to feel the sharpness of my blade," Cloud said.

The horses got ready to fight, lowering their haunches as they prepared to charge.

"Do I feel sorry for you two," Cloud said as he tightened the grip on the hilt of the sword.

The two horses charged at Cloud, who charged at them, but before they reached each other, the doors behind Cloud burst open.

"Stop at once!"

Cloud and the horses stopped charging at each other at the sound of the voice, calm but commanding, soft but authorative. The two armored horses slowly backed away from Cloud and bent down, as though they were bowing to someone. Cloud relaxed and lowered his sword as a taller horse stepped in between him and the armored horses. This horse was taller than the armored ones, with a long unicorn's horn and large Pegasus wings. The horse's mane and tail were brightly colored and flowing as though they were blowing in the wind.

"What is the meaning of this?" the tall horse asked in a feminine voice.

"Please forgive us, Princess Celestia," one of the horses said. "But we found this intruder and were going to deal with him accordingly."

The tall horse-Princess Celestia-turned towards Cloud, her face stern. Cloud raises his sword, ready to defend himself. He didn't know what to make of this "princess", but he wasn't going to take any chances.

"You. You're a human, aren't you?" Celestia asked.

"What's it to you, horse?" Cloud said sternly.

One of the armored horses glared at Cloud. "Mind how you address Princess Celestia!" he growled.

"Princess or not, just tell me where I am and how to get out of here," Cloud said. "I have some friends to find."

"I see," Celestia said. She looked Cloud up and down, sizing him up. Cloud tightened his grip on his sword, ready in case she decided to attack with that horn of hers.

"Now, if you don't mind," Cloud said, "I'd like to get out of here."

"Wait a moment," Celestia said, taking a small step towards him. "Perhaps I can help you."

"Yeah? How?"

"Begging your pardon, Princess," one of the armored horses said. "But do you think that a wise decision?"

"Perhaps he knows the young child found outside of Ponyville this morning," Celestia replied.

"Young child?" Cloud repeated, lowering his sword. "You mean Marlene? Where is she? Is she in this Ponyville? Tell me!"

"Calm down," Celestia said in a soothing tone. "I'll tell you everything. Please, come with me."

"I'm not sure if I should. I don't trust...ponies."

"If you insist," Celestia sighed. "But could you please sheathe your sword?"

"Not until you tell me what I want to know."

Celestia smiled. She admired this young man's attitude. He was cautious around those he didn't know, and judging by how insistent he was to see the young child, it was clear he cared for his friends. And that sword; clearly it was bigger than the swords Celestia had seen in her books. This man had to be very strong to lift it with no effort, and it was clear that he wasn't afraid to use it.

"A human child, a young girl, was found on the outskirts of Ponyville this morning at around 9:30," Celestia explained. "She was found between Sweet Apple Acres and the Everfree Forest. Some ponies thought that she had in fact come from the forest, though it was clear that she was not from this world."

"Yeah, I figured that," Cloud said.

"Well, one of my students, a unicorn named Twilight Sparkle, took the child in to care for her until her wounds were healed. You see, she was unconscious when the residents of Ponyville found her. I wonder if she has woken up yet?"

"Get to the point, Princess."

"Ponyville's about ten miles from here," Celestia said. "You'll find the child there. If you like, I could arrange for transport to take you there."

"What about the others?"

"Others?"

"I came here with five other people, including the girl's adoptive father. Where are they?"

"There are other humans here besides you and the child? Forgive me, but I'm afraid I don't have that information. Perhaps they found their way to Ponyville?"

"So, Ponyville, huh? And you said it's about ten miles away? Wouldn't be too hard to get there, if I had a motorcycle."

"Again, I offer you transport if you like," Celestia said.

"Not interested," Cloud said as he turned away. "I'll find my own way there. Thanks." He stepped through the door and shut it behind him. "Ponyville, huh? Must be that little village I saw a while ago. Shouldn't take me too long to get there."

After a while, he found his way outside. The palace was part of a bigger city, just as white and clean as the palace itself. The streets were cobblestone and the buildings were made of brick and cement blocks. The horses were all dressed in fancy clothes-suits, tuxedoes, dresses; it was all very surreal. But one character in particular caught Cloud's attention; a humanoid figure standing on the roof of a nearby building, surrounded in a red cloak.

_Vincent!_

Cloud took a few steps back so he could get a running start, and leaped off the balcony of the palace and landed on the roof of the building Vincent was standing on.

"Vincent. Have you seen the others?"

"This world's occupied by ponies and other creatures we haven't seen," Vincent replied. "You're the first human I've seen since we arrived here."

"Oh. Well, I just learned where Marlene is; a place called Ponyville, only a few miles away from here. We can get there before night and get Marlene. And the others may be there too."

"Wouldn't we have heard from them by now?" Vincent asked.

"No cell signal. This entire world must be one big dead zone. And I don't see any cell towers on those mountains."

"Then Ponyville it is."

The trip down the mountain from the city took longer than Cloud expected. They had to contend with steep areas and avalanche zones. Cloud wished he had a motorcycle right now; it would make the trip a hell of a lot faster. The only signs of vehicular travel was a railroad track running down the mountain. Maybe he and Vincent could catch a train.

Cloud heard the sound of a whistle coming from the direction of the city. He and Vincent turned to look back in the direction they had just come. The telltale smoke of a steam engine was billowing in the air, and it was getting closer.

"Looks like we'll be able to hitch a ride," Cloud said. "Get ready, Vincent."

Thirty seconds later, a steam locomotive went by. Cloud and Vincent timed their jumps right, and leaped onto the train's cars. They ducked down to avoid being blown off of the train by the slipstream.

"At this rate, we should be in town in a couple of minutes," Vincent said.

"The sooner we get there, the better," Cloud replied. "Hey Vincent, what's that?" He pointed at something running alongside the tracks.

Vincent looked in the direction Cloud was pointing. He squinted.

"Looks like Barrett."

Cloud cupped his hands over his mouth. "Barrett!" he yelled. "Barrett, over here!"

Barrett stopped and turned. He raised his arms. "Cloud! Vincent! Down here, fellas!"

Cloud and Vincent reached down over the sides of the car. Barrett jumped, grabbing their arms, and they pulled him up onto the roof.

"Hey, where ya been, boys?" Barrett asked.

"We could ask you the same thing," Cloud replied. "We found out where Marlene is."

"Yeah? Where's that?"

"A town called Ponyville," Cloud said. He looked to the front of the train. "The tracks lead right through that town, assuming we don't hit any switched tracks along the way. At this speed, we should be there in a couple of minutes."

"Good. Then we can get Marlene and get the hell outta wherever we are."

"We'll have to wait for Shinra to open another portal, though," Vincent said.

"What was that?" Barrett asked, shocked.

"Tell us later, Vincent," Cloud said. "We're here."

The town was rolling by faster than they could see. They had to act fast if they didn't want to miss their destination. They inched their way towards the edge of the car's roof, Cloud grabbing the handle of his sword, just in case he needed to use it. He still didn't trust anyone from this world.

All at once, the three of them jumped from the train.

Cloud was the first one on the ground. He pulled his sword out and took a stance, holding it out in front of him, ready for anything. Barrett and Vincent landed a split second later.

The few ponies that were around all stepped back in fright, their eyes wide. Cloud glanced from pony to pony, watching their every move. Granted, they didn't look like the types of creatures to put up any sort of fight, but Cloud wasn't going to take any chances.

Barrett stepped forward, his robotic hand transforming into a gatling gun. He aimed it at the ponies. "Alright, horsies. Where's my little girl?"

Before anyone-or any pony-could answer, a light blue pony with wings flew down towards them. Her mane and tail were the colors of the rainbow-red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple-and a raincloud with a lightning bolt-shaped rainbow was on her hindquarters.

"Who the heck do you guys think you are, barging into town and waving your...really big weapons around?" the pony demanded.

"Back off, runt," Barrett growled. "Unless you want me to blast ya."

"You three came out of the Everfree Forest, didn't you?" the pony asked. "Yeah, you had to. You and that other human!"

Barrett lowered his gun. "Other human? A little girl?"

"Oh, coming to get your little friend back, are you? Well, you can have here. We want nothing to do with her!"

Vincent stepped forward. "Take us to her, horse."

"Why should I?"

Cloud pointed his sword at the pony. "Just do it, damn it, or I'll run you through."

The pony flew back a little bit. "Well, when you put it that way," she said. "Fine. I'll take you. But as soon as I do, you're going back to the forest, got it?"

Ponyville was certainly more old fashioned than the city they had left earlier. The houses were built out of wood. Some of the roofs were also wood, whereas others were straw or bamboo. One of the houses, however, was built out of some shinier material, some sort of stone.

As they passed by this particular building, the door opened, and out stepped a pearl white unicorn with a raven mane and tail and a trio of diamonds on her flank. Following her was a smaller unicorn with light purple hair and a blank flank-clearly a younger pony.

The older unicorn put a hoof in front of the younger unicorn as Cloud and the others passed by.

"Rainbow Dash, where did you find those creatures?" she asked, a hint of an accent in her voice.

"Oh, these humans? They jumped off the train as it went through town," the flying pony-Rainbow Dash-replied. "Said they were here for the younger human."

"What younger human?" the younger unicorn asked.

"Didn't you hear, Sweetie Bell?" Rainbow Dash asked. "A small human was found outside of town this morning."

"And I must say," the older unicorn said, "she was rather adorable."

Rainbow Dash slapped her forehead with a hoof. "Please, Rarity. You know as well as I do that she's not from here."

"You're right, we're not," Cloud said.

Rainbow Dash pressed her face against his. "So you admit that you came from the Everfree Forest?"

"What the hell is that?" Barrett asked. "We ain't from no damn forest, we're from another world! Now stop yapping and take us to Marlene!"

"Who?" Rarity asked.

"Is that the human's name?" Sweetie Bell asked.

Rainbow Dash sighed, clearly annoyed. "Look, the big guy's right. The more we stand her talking, the longer these humans are in Ponyville. Let's just take them to the kid so they can get the heck outta here."

"Lead the way," Cloud said.

Rainbow Dash gave Cloud an angry look before flying ahead, Cloud and the others following close behind, and behind them, Rarity and Sweetie Bell.

After a while, they arrived at a large tree studded with windows and a front door. Rainbow Dash finally landed, folding her wings against her body, and knocked on the door. The door opened, revealing a lavender unicorn.

"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash," she said.

"Twilight, I think we may have a small problem," Rainbow Dash said. "More humans."

"Funny you should say that," the unicorn replied. She opened the door a little more, revealing the occupants. Three more ponies-another Pegasus and two regular ponies-as well as some familiar faces: Tifa, Cid, Yuffie, and Marlene.

Barrett pushed his way past the others as he and Marlene ran towards each other. They wrapped their arms around each other in a tight hug.

"Daddy!"

"Oh, Marlene! I was so worried about you!" He held Marlene out in front of him. "What in the world were you thinking, following me to the Shinra building? You had no idea what that machine was. You could have gotten seriously hurt, young lady."

"I'm sorry, Daddy," Marlene said quietly. "I didn't mean to worry you, I just wanted to see what Shinra wanted to show you."

"Well, look where it's gotten us," Cid whispered to Cloud. "Stuck in a world full of talking horses. I'm about to lose my god damn mind."

"Don't worry," Cloud said. "We found Marlene. Now we can get out of here."

"It's not going to be that simple," Vincent said as he leaned against a wall and crossed his arms. "As far as I can tell, there's no way for us to open a portal back to our world from this world. We have to wait for Shinra to open a portal for us to go back through, and even then, we don't know how long that will be. Their machine may have malfunctioned shortly after we got here. We can't know for sure. All we can do is wait."

"So, we're stuck here?" Cid asked.

"Seems that way," Vincent replied.

"Oh, for the love of-!" Cid yelled. He crossed his arms. "Ah. Shit."

"We can afford to wait," Barrett said as she pulled Marlene into another hug. "What's important is that I've found my little girl."

Rainbow Dash walked over to Twilight. "Do you see any sort of family resemblance there?"

"You mean besides the fact that they're both human?" Twilight asked.

"Well, one's a little darker than the other."

"Well, were your mom and dad the same color as you?"

"Oh. You got a good point there, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said.

"Personally," Yuffie said as she made her way over to Sweetie Bell, "I don't really mind it here. How can you not like it, with such rediculously cute critters like this one?" She rubbed Sweetie Bell behind her ear.

Sweetie Bell backed away. "I'm a pony, not a dog!"

Fluttershy watched Barrett and Marlene embrace. She found the scene to be the most touching thing she'd ever seen-a father's love for his daughter. It actually brought a tear to her eye. She wiped it away as Pinkie Pie started to bounce up and down.

"Yay! You're together again! Dad and daughter together again! We should throw a party!"

Cloud rolled his eyes. He agreed with Cid; the they didn't belong here, they had done what they needed to do. But if Vincent was right, and they really _did_ have to wait for Shinra to open a portal back to their home world...

_Something tells me we could be here for a very long time._


	5. A Gathering of Darkness

A GATHERING OF DARKNESS

HE STOOD ON THE MOUNTAIN OVERLOOKING THE CITY. LOOKING AT IT from this vantage point, all seemed peaceful. But he knew that all was not as it seemed. He knew that in the hearts of the city's citizens, there was greed, anger, fear, hatred, envy, lust; for there was darkness in every heart, no matter how pure.

It was common knowledge that the world began in darkness; no matter what anyone believed. The world began in darkness, and it would end in darkness as well. Despite what the people of the world believed, there was no light at the end of life; much like the world, life ended in a dark void.

Staring down at the city, and the countryside beyond, he could just taste the darkness, the inner evils of the inhabitants of this world. It was intoxicating. He licked his lips, heavily anticipating what he was about to do.

"This world has been connected. Tied to the darkness. Soon to be completely eclipsed. Try to fight it if you want, fools. But it is a meaningless effort. It has been determined. It is this world's destiny. Every light will fade, every heart-like this world-will return to darkness."

Slowly, he made his way down the mountain, keeping his balance and trying not to slip on the loose rocks. As he went, he made up his plan in his mind. Should he destroy them outright, or make them sweat it out? He knew of so many ways to kill someone, so much so that it was hard for him to decide.

This wouldn't be the first world he had destroyed. It certainly wouldn't be the last. He took joy in causing suffering and pain, took pleasure in hearing the death cries of thousands of people as their lives were forcefully taken from them in the most horrific ways imaginible.

This would be the fifth world he would destroy. And just like the previous four, he would take great pleasure in ending its existance.


	6. The Cutie Mark Crusaders

THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS

APPLE BLOOM WALKED UP THE RAMP TO THE TREEHOUSE HER SISTER Applejack had built for her and her friends some time ago. They'd been using it as the clubhouse for their group, the Cutie Mark Crusaders-a trio of fillies determined to find their special talents and earn their cutie marks. They were the only three in their class with blank flanks. It was embarrassing, but they were determined to get their cutie marks. Apple Bloom even went so far as to use a plant called Heart's Desire while visiting the zebra Zecora, but that backfired horribly when she developed the Cutie Pox, a condition where many cutie marks appeared, forcing her to do whatever talent they represented-spinning plates, hang gliding, lion taming; too many to count.

Apple Bloom shuddered as she reached the door of the clubhouse, trying not to think about the Cutie Pox.

She thought back to the reason she was here. Sweetie Bell had told her and Scootaloo to meet here, said it had something to do with the human found outside of town this morning.

Apple Bloom opened the door and was greeted by the other two Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"About time you got here," Scootaloo said. She was a young Pegasus pony, light brown in color with a dark purple mane and tail, totally contrasting Apple Bloom, who was bright yellow with red hair and a darker red bow in her mane.

"Sorry, gals," Apple Bloom said. "You know how Granny Smith gets when she starts telling one of her stories. Had to wait for her to fall asleep before I could leave."

"Well, since we're here, time to tell you the news about the human," Sweetie Bell said.

"Yeah, we know," Scootaloo huffed. "A human girl found near the Everfree Forest. Rainbow Dash thinks she came from there."

"Well, I just learned that she didn't," Sweetie Bell said. "And I've also learned that she's not the only human here."

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo just stared at Sweetie Bell, their jaws hanging open.

"More humans?" Scootaloo gasped. "How the heck did they get here?"

"The one human in red said something about a interdi-thingy portal thingy brought them here, and unitl another one opens-however the heck that works-they're stuck here for a while," Sweetie Bell explained.

"That could be forever," Apple Bloom quietly said. "We're gonna be stuck with the humans forever?"

"Well, they seem pretty nice," Sweetie Bell replied. "And that girl's daddy seemed to be really worried about her."

"Her daddy?" Apple Bloom replied. "Her daddy came looking for her? That's so sweet."

"Hey! I just go an idea!" Scootaloo suddenly screamed. "Maybe there really _are_ more humans in the Everfree Forest! We should go and find them!"

"But it's in the Everfree Forest," Sweetie Bell said. "The scariest place in all of Equestria."

"Sweetie Bell, we've gone through the forest so many times we practically know that place like the back of our hooves," Apple Bloom said. "Besides, Zecora lives in the forest, and she's not scary."

"Yeah, but that's all the further we've ever gone into the Everfree Forest," Sweetie Bell replied. "What about the rest of the forest?"

Scootaloo turned and made her way to the door. "Well, you two scardey ponies can stay here if you want. I'm going human hunting. Besides, maybe that will help us get our cutie marks."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell both looked at their flanks. No cutie mark. They'd been waiting too long to find their special talents, even though every older pony kept telling them to be patient. But they all had their cutie marks; some of them got their cutie marks before they were even the Crusaders' age. Maybe Scootaloo was right; maybe this _would_ help them get their cutie marks.

"All right," Sweetie Bell said. She and Apple Bloom started to follow Scootaloo. "Let's do this."

No matter how many times the fillies had gone into the Everfree Forest, they always felt a bit of trepedation and anxiety. While they all knew the way to Zecora's hut, the forest was populated with all sorts of creatures that wouldn't hesitate to gobble up a couple of young ponies-dragons, manticores, water serpents; heck, even the trees looked demonic.

_Just remember what Pinkie Pie told us_, Apple Bloom thought as they walked. _When something scares you, just laugh at it and it will go away. Not sure how well that will work, though. But if it works for her, it should work for us, right?_

"Humans! Humans, where are you?" Scootaloo called, snapping Apple Bloom back to reality.

"Do you think a human would even hear that?" she asked.

"They might," Scootaloo replied. "You never know. Humans! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

"Do you really think this will help us get our cutie marks?" Sweetie Bell asked. "And if it does, what do you think our cutie marks will look like?"

"A human all hog tied with rope?" Apple Bloom guessed.

"Maybe just a picture of a human?" Scootaloo suggested. "We'll never know until it shows up."

Sweetie Bell stopped walking. She could have sworn she'd seen something on the trail just up ahead. She squinted, trying to get a better look at whatever it was in the dark forest. It had the same shape as the humans back in Ponyville. Maybe it was a friend of theirs.

"I see a human!" she cried. "Up ahead!"

"Cool!" Scootaloo said. "Let's go get it."

The three fillies charged at the human, its features getting easier to view as they got closer. The human was male, about the same size as the human with the spiky yellow mane and the large sword-one of the humans who had jumped off the train as it went through Ponyville. This human's mane was much longer and silver in color. He, too, had a big sword, but it was skinny and really long, almost as long as the human himself.

He didn't even see the three fillies come running up to him; he had his back turned. The fillies skidded to a stop behind him, just out of reach of the tip of his long sword.

"Okay, human! We're here to wrangle you up!" Apple Bloom said.

"We'll catch you and get our cutie marks," Scootaloo added.

"Yeah, what they said," Sweetie Bell said.

The human remained quiet, at least for a moment. And then he spoke, his voice calm and deep.

"You three." He turned around, pointing his sword at the fillies. "Who are you?"

The fillies jumped back, surprised. Scootaloo started pawing at the ground. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders," she said. "And we're gonna catch you and get our cutie marks."

"I see," the human calmly said. "So you must be denizens of this world."

"What's a denizen?" Sweetie Bell asked.

"Do I look like a dictionary?" Apple Bloom shot back.

The human smiled. "I get it. You _are_ of this world. In that case..." He raised his sword above his head. "You three shall be the first to die."

The fillies' eyes grew wide in shock. This human was going to...kill them?!

"Uh, girls?" Scootaloo squeaked. "I think now would be a good time to..."

"RUN!" they all shouted.

The fillies ran as fast as their short legs could carry them, getting out of the way just as the human's sword cut through the air, barely missing them. They ran past him, hurrying down the path. They didn't know where the path led, but right now, they didn't care.

"Don't look back!" Apple Bloom yelled as they sprinted. "Keep running!"

Sweetie Bell couldn't help herself-she looked back. The human was just watching them, and she heard him say something that made the mane on the back of her neck stand up.

"Run if you wish, my little ponies. This world has already been resigned to darkness."

Sweetie Bell sped up, trying to keep pace with her friends as they continued to run away.


	7. Cloud vs Sephiroth

CLOUD VS. SEPHIROTH: BATTLE IN THE ABANDONED CASTLE

"HEY, WHAT'S WITH THE BABY BAHAMUT?" TIFA ASKED.

She pointed to the little dragon that had just walked into the study. He was slightly shorter than the ponies, about three feet tall. His scales were a light shade of purple, and he had a line of green spines running down his back, and his tail ended in an arrow-shaped point.

"What's a bahamut?" the dragon asked. "I'm Spike."

Yuffie started patting Spike on the head. "He may be a little bahamut, but he's so cute!"

"I told you," Spike snapped as he pushed Yuffie's hand away. "I'm not a bahamut, whatever that is. I'm a dragon!"

"Calm down, Spike," Twilight said as she used her unicorn magic to put the book she was reading back on the shelf. "That's probably what they call dragons in their world."

"So you guys really _are_ from another world, huh?" Spike asked. "Cool. What's your world like?"

"You know, if I had one gil for every time we were asked that question in the past hour, I wouldn't have to worry about paying my bills," Barrett said.

"They were only curious," Tifa told him.

Cloud turned to face Rainbow Dash. "So, Dash, convinced we're not from your forest now?"

"Okay, your stories check out," Rainbow Dash said. "But I still don't trust any of you. And the fact that you're gonna be here for a while isn't making this any better."

Cloud just shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever."

"So," Spike said, pushing Marlene away as she tried to pet him. "You get a tour of Ponyville yet?"

"We just got back about ten minutes ago," Twilight said. "And most of the others had to go home. Where have you been?"

"Hey, you have no idea how hard it is to find gemstones on your own," Spike replied.

"Gemstones? Why?" Yuffie asked.

"What else am I gonna snack on?" Spike replied. "I mean, I like grass just fine, but seriously, a dragon can't live off of a pony's diet his whole life. Anyway, the tour? How'd it go?"

"Pretty good," Twilight replied. "Of course, Rarity just _had_ to show them Carousel Boutique first."

Cid shuddered. "Don't think I've ever seen so many damn dresses in my whole life."

Twilight chuckled. "Then we showed them Sugar Cube Corner."

"All those tasty treets," Yuffie moaned. "Makes me hungry just thinking about them. Pies, cakes, pastries..."

The door slammed open, interrupting Yuffie's train of thought. Applejack came barging in, breathing hard.

"Applejack! What's wrong?" Twilight asked.

"Have y'all seen Apple Bloom?" Applejack asked between breaths. "I can't find her anywhere. And apparently Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell are gone, too!"

"Where do you think they could have gone?" Spike asked.

"Probably to look for more humans," Rainbow Dash said, glancing at Cloud from the corner of her eyes.

"Come on," Twilight said. "Let's go find them."

They searched Ponyville for over an hour, and still there was no sign of the young fillies. They weren't at the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse; Mr. and Mrs. Cake at Sugar Cube Corner hadn't seen them; according to Miss Cherilee, they hadn't shown up for class this morning; Granny Smith vaguely remembered talking to Apple Bloom earlier this morning; the fillies were gone.

They all met back up at Twilight's house, tired from their search.

"No sign of them at all!" Pinkie Pie cried. "Oh, this is bad, this is bad, this is very very veryveryvery bad!"

"Relax," Cloud said. "We'll find them. There's only one place we haven't looked yet."

The six ponies all looked at each other, knowing what Cloud was talking about. They didn't want to admit it, but they also had the same thought. If the kids were going to go looking for humans in any part of Equestria, there was only one place they would have gone.

"The Everfree Forest!"

"Ain't that that place Yuffie and I bumped into Tifa?" Cid asked.

"Yeah, it is," Twilight replied. "If we hurry we might still be able to catch up to them. Let's go."

Barrett turned to Marlene. "Marlene, you're gonna have to stay here. We'll be back soon."

"You stay with her, Spike," Twilight added.

"No problem, Twilight," Spike said as he gave a small salute. "You can count on me."

"OK," Cloud said. "Let's go."

Scootaloo looked behind her as they stopped running. There was no sign of the human. She let out a sigh of relief as she tried to catch her breath. She and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders had been running for a really long time, eventually making their way to the abandoned castle.

This castle was once home to the Royal Family of Equestria, until Nightmare Moon was sealed away one thousand years ago. The castle was now falling apart, the only sign that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna once lived here was a ruined painting that was fading away, wilting with age.

It was also here where Twilight Sparkle and her friends Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash found a weapon used to defeat Nightmare Moon when she came back after a thousand years. What was the weapon called again?

Scootaloo didn't have time to think about that; she heard footsteps on the stone floor-not hoofsteps, footsteps. Slowly, she turned, saw the human step into the castle.

"Nowhere to go, nowhere to hide," he said.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders huddled together and screamed.

Cloud sprinted in the direction of the scream, pulling out his sword as he ran. He could hear Sweetie Bell's voice mixed in with two others. He picked up the pace, hoping to get to the fillies before whatever it was that was chasing them did.

He made his way out of the thicket, jumped over a river, and came to a rickety bridge over a large gap. The bridge was falling apart and missing quite a number of planks, but that didn't stop Cloud. He ran across the bridge, leaping the last few feet and skidding to a stop inside an old dilapidated castle. He regained his balance, raised his sword, and stopped short at what he saw.

_I know that person_.

The man had his back to Cloud; his attention was fixed on the three young fillies as he raised his long katana.

"Sephiroth!"

He charged at the man-Sephiroth-who looked over his shoulder at Cloud. Cloud leaped into the air, raising his sword over his head as he got ready to bring it down. Sephiroth raises his sword and with one swipe, knocked Cloud back into a wall.

Sephiroth walked over to Cloud, eyeing him cautiously. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm only here for the kids," Cloud said. "Let them go, Sephiroth."

"You seem to know me," Sephiroth said. "Have we met before?"

Okay, this was weird. How could Sephiroth not recognize Cloud? They'd met plenty of times before, most recently just six months ago. How could he not know who Cloud was?

_Unless,_ Cloud thought..._Unless he's this world's version of Sephiroth, in which case, he _wouldn't _recognize me._

Sephiroth tightened the grip on his sword. "No matter. My blade shall taste your blood first." He raised his sword.

"Cloud, look out!"

Cloud quickly brought his sword up, just in time to block Sephiroth's attack. He pushed Sephiroth back and turned to the castle entrance. The ponies and the rest of his friends had just arrived.

"Quick! Get the kids outta here!" he yelled as he parried another blow by Sephiroth. He retaliated with his own attack.

The two swords clashed, the ringing of their blades connecting echoing off of the stone walls. Sparks flew out of the swords as they hit each other over and over again, both Cloud and Sephiroth trying to get the upper hand.

Twilight galloped around the two combatants and hurried over to the younger ponies.

"We're sorry!" Apple Bloom cried. "We didn't mean for this to happen!"

"Don't worry about that," Twilight said. "Let's just get out of here."

Cloud jumped out of the way of another attack and landed in front of Twilight and the fillies. He glanced over his shoulder at them.

"Go! Get outta here!" He turned to Tifa. "Tifa, get them back to town, now!" He blocked Sephiroth's sword and countered with an attack of his own. They locked swords again.

"Your concern for your friends is admirable," Sephiroth said. "But ultimately futile. Soon this entire world will be dead."

"Why?" Cloud asked. He kicked Sephiroth back. "Why do you want to destroy this world?"

Sephiroth smiled, a truly evil smile, a look Cloud knew all too well. "Even in the purest of hearts, there is the slightest bit of darkness. Every world in the universe, every universe in the multiverse, is riddled with fear, hatred, hunger, war, greed, and death. I have taken it upon myself to purge them of this darkness."

"By destroying the worlds?"

"When the people are dead, they won't have to worry. I'm going to destroy this world, and by so doing, save it as well. Save it from itself. Because in the end, it will eventually die, return to the darkness it was born from. I've done this to four worlds already, and I would be lying if I said that I did not take great pleasure in ending their pathetic existences."

"You're talking about mass genocide. I've been in this world for only a few hours, but I know that it's innocent. This world, and the ponies inhabiting it, have no reason to die."

"Everything has a reason to die. It is their destiny. Death is an inevitability. It happens to everyone and everything."

"You know what? I've heard enough of your ramblings," Cloud said. "I've heard it all before." He lunged at Sephiroth, ready to bring his sword down and decapitate him, but Sephiroth blocked, pushing Cloud's sword back, and lunged at Cloud with an attack of his own.

Cloud ducked out of the way of the sword. He felt the wind of the blade go just over his head. He quickly jumped back to his feet and kicked Sephiroth in the chest, knocking him back.

"You're skilled," Sephiroth said as he clutched his chest. "Are you a soldier?"

"I _was_ a SOLDIER," Cloud spat back. "Or at least, I thought I was."

"What's that?"

"Never mind. It's not important. Especially not to you!" He pulled his sword apart-he now held two blades-and lunged at Sephiroth.

Sephiroth blocked Cloud's swords. They pushed against each other, sparks coming off of their blades, as they stared into each other's eyes, neither of them willing to back down.

Cloud had told them to get the fillies back to Ponyville, but Twilight couldn't help but worry about him. So she had split off from the group when she got the chance, galloping back to the abandoned castle.

She could hear the sounds of their swords slamming into each other, heard Cloud grunting as the fight went on. She picked up the pace, hoping to get there before anything bad happened.

The bridge buckled under her as she galloped over it, throwing her off balance for a second. Quickly regaining her balance, she hurried into the castle, just in time to see Cloud and the other human-the man named Sephiroth-slam their swords into each other. Cloud leaped out of the way of another attack, landing on the top of the nearby wall and leaping off, sword raised.

Sephiroth parried Cloud's attack before starting an attack of his own. Cloud barely had time to react, blocking as fast as he could, but not fast enough. Sephiroth hit Cloud hard enough to knock him down. He put a foot on Cloud's sword arm and raised his own sword.

"For what it's worth, Cloud, you put up a good fight. But, as we all know, all good things must come to an end." He got ready to bring his sword down.

_Gotta act fast_, Twilight thought as she looked around for anything she could use as a weapon. _There!_ She concentrated on the cinderblocks against the far wall, tapping into her unicorn magic. Her horn started to glow, as did the blocks, and she used her magic to throw them at Sephiroth.

Sephiroth turned around and faster than Twilight could blink, he sliced the cinderblocks in half with his sword.

"Uh oh."

"I see," Sephiroth said, turning his attention to Twilight. "So, my little pony, you wish to be the first to die."

"Sephiroth, don't!" Cloud yelled.

Sephiroth raised his free arm. A dark storm cloud materialized above Twilight. She heard the telltale clap of thunder come from the cloud.

_I don't like the looks of this_, she thought. She quickly used her unicorn magic to create a transparent force field around her, just as lightning came down from the cloud. The lightning bolts struck the force field, harmlessly disappating just inches above Twilight's head.

"Try as you might, little pony," Sephiroth said. "But your primitive magic will eventually succumb to my Thundaga attacks."

"Sephiroth, stop this!" Cloud yelled.

"Patience," Sephiroth said. "First her, then you."

The lightning continued to strike Twilight's force field, each bolt stronger than the last. A small crack began to form on the force field's surface.

"Oh no," Twilight gasped. "This can't be good."

One more lightning bolt struck the force field, shattering it. The bolt that followed hit Twilight directly. It was followed by several more bolts all at once.

"Twilight!" Cloud yelled. "No!"

Twilight cried out in pain. She'd never felt anything that hurt this much. The heat was unbearable; she felt like her blood was starting to boil; her skin and fur felt like it was on fire. The pain brought tears to her eyes.

Unable to take the pain anymore, Twilight collapsed. Only then did the lightning stop striking all at once.

Cloud stared at Twilight's limp body in wide-eyed shock. She'd come back to try to help him, only to have this happen to her.

_No. Not again._

He thought back to what happened to Aerith two years ago, how the Sephiroth from his world had killed her; attacking her by surprise while Cloud stood there helpless to do anything.

"No," he said under his breath. "She was kind and generous. And I just sat here while Sephiroth attacked her." He looked back at Twilight as another lightning bolt struck her. "But no more. I won't let this happen anymore!"

He kicked Sephiroth off of him, cancelling out Sephiroth's Thundaga spell. He picked up his sword and charged at Sephiroth, who barely managed to block Cloud's attacks. Cloud's sword slammed into Sephiroth's so hard that it came close to shattering. But Cloud didn't let up; he kept attacking, trying to get Sephiroth off his guard.

Sephiroth leaped back, landing on top of a fallen wall. "Again, I commend your skill in battle, Cloud. I think I'll keep you around a little bit longer." He leaped off the wall and disappeared over the other side.

Cloud jumped onto the wall, but Sephiroth was already gone.

"Damn it!" he growled through gritted teeth. He hurried over to Twilight. Her fur was singed in multiple places. Blood trickled from her ears and under her mane. She wasn't breathing.

_This is my fault. I should have done something, but I didn't._ He put his sword away and carefully picked Twilight up.

_I'm so sorry, Twilight Sparkle._


	8. Cloud's Tears

CLOUD'S TEARS

TWILIGHT WASN'T WITH THE GROUP WHEN THEY GOT OUT OF THE  
forest. They spent over an hour looking for her, even getting Marlene and Spike involved. But there was no sign of her.

"When did you last see her?" Spike asked.

"Right after we found the kids," Fluttershy replied. "After that, we lost her."

"Maybe some horrible monster came and gobbled her up!" Pinkie Pie gasped.

"Get serious, Pinkie," Applejack said. "We would have seen and heard something if that had happened."

Vincent crossed his arms. "Perhaps she went back to help Cloud."

"Against Sephirtoth?" Cid asked. "Then that damn horse is dumber than she looks."

Rainbow Dash flew over to Cid, pressing her face against his. "Twilight is _not_ a dumb pony," she hissed. "She's smart, and brave, and kind..."

Applejack grabbed Rainbow's tail in her mouth and pulled her to the ground. "Whoa there, Nelly! No need to go pickin' a fight with the humans."

"And just why not?" Rainbow Dash shot back. "We've had nothing but trouble since they got here."

"Hey guys, it's Cloud!" Yuffie said, pointing into the forest. The others all looked in the direction she was pointing.

Cloud was slowly walking out of the forest, more of him coming into detail as he stepped out of the shadows. His head was lowered, his face hidden from view, and he was carrying something in his arms. As he stepped into the light, they saw that he was carrying a wounded and unconscious Twilight Sparkle.

The other ponies' eyes grew wide with shock. "Twilight!" They hurried over to Cloud, who gently put Twilight on the ground.

Spike pushed his way past the ponies and hurried over to Twilight, taking her head in his small hands. "Twilight! What happened?" He looked up at Cloud, who just turned away. "Twilight, please be okay." He gently shook her. "Please, wake up, Twilight." Tears started rolling down his face. "Twilight..." He buried his face in Twilight's fur.

The other ponies gathered around. "Oh my," Fluttershy gasped. "This looks awful."

"She's not..." Rarity said. "She can't be..."

Applejack nudged Twilight's body with her snout. "Come on, Sugarcube, wake up!"

"Do you think she's going to be okay?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Rainbow Dash turned to Cloud, her face contorted in rage. "You. This is all your fault! You were there, you could have done something to keep Twilight from getting hurt! But you didn't, did you?!"

"Twilight, that's not fair," Tifa said. "I'm sure Cloud really did try his best."

"Yeah?" Rainbow spat. "Well, his best wasn't good enough!"

"Knock it off, Dash!" Applejack yelled.

"No, Rainbow Dash is right," Cloud said. "I just sat there while Sephiroth attacked her with his Thundaga magic. It's my fault she's hurt." He stepped past the group, slowly walking towards the town. He stopped. "I'm sorry. I should have acted, and I didn't."

"Cloud, it's not your fault," Tifa said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Cloud looked at Tifa over his shoulder, his eyes glistening with tears. "Just like it wasn't my fault Aerith died?! I didn't do anything then, and look what happened! And now it's happened again in this world. I'm sorry. Just...I just want to be alone right now!" He ran away from the group, running as fast as he could.

"Just leave him go," Rainbow Dash said. "We have to do something about Twilight."

"Uhh..."

Spike lifted his face from Twilight's fur. "Twilight? You're still alive?"

Twilight just moaned, refusing to open her eyes.

"Come on, everypony," Applejack said. "We gotta get this pony to Ponyville Hospital right away."

Fluttershy helped her friends get Twilight to the hospital before she and Tifa went off to find Cloud. She felt just terrible for him. She, like Tifa, believed that Cloud had done all he could to keep Twilight from getting hurt.

"I do hope Cloud is doing okay," Fluttershy said.

"He's been like this before," Tifa replied. "I think he'll be okay."

They found Cloud outside of town, in a small forested area, sitting near the bank of a river. He had one arm resting on his knee as he stared at the water. Even from this distance, Tifa could tell that Cloud had been crying-she saw the streaks of tears on his face. As they got closer, she could still see his eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"Let me talk to him, Fluttershy," Tifa said, rubbing the Pegasus on the head. "Okay?" She sat down next to Cloud. "Are you okay, Cloud?"

"Do I look okay?" Cloud shot back.

"What happened to Twilight wasn't your fault."

"Stop saying that, Tifa. It _was_ my fault. I could have knocked Sephiroth off of me, breaking his concentration and saving Twilight, but I didn't. I just sat there like an idiot. I should have done something, but I let Sephiroth seriously hurt her. For all I know, Twilight's dead because of me."

"But she's not dead," Tifa said. "She's alive. We just dropped her off at Ponyville Hospital. They're taking care of her. She's going to be fine." Cloud turned away from her. "Aren't you happy to hear about that? Twilight's alive!"

"Yeah, great," Cloud said. He wiped his eyes.

Fluttershy walked up to him. "Cloud, I know you feel bad for what happened to Twilight. I can't begin to imagine what it must have been like to see that happen to her."

"You're not helping," Cloud said. He wiped his eyes again. "Is she awake yet?"

"She might be," Tifa replied. Cloud stood up. "Going to go see her?"

"Yeah," Cloud replied. "It's something I have to do." He started walking away.

Twilight's entire body was sore. She felt like she'd been run over by a stampede of buffalo. Her head was throbbing, and her sides hurt; she'd never felt any pain like this before. And the last thing she remembered was being hit by those lightning bolts.

"Twilight? Twilight, are you alright?"

The voices were faint, but she could make out the voices of her friends. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Staring down at her were the concerned faces of Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Spike, along with Cid, Barrett-holding Marlene in his arms-Yuffie, and Vincent-who was leaning against the nearby wall, his arms crossed.

"How're you feeling, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"Pretty lousy, I guess," Twilight moaned. "What happened?"

"You went back to help Cloud," Rarity explained, "when this dreadful turn of events took place."

"You look like you got in a fight with a lightning cloud and the lightning cloud won," Pinkie Pie said. "When Cloud brought you out of the forest, you were out of it. And then we brought you here."

"And it's a good thing we did, too," Yuffie said. "The doc said that if we hadn't gotten you here in the next few hours you wouldn't have made it."

Spike gently wrapped his small arms around Twilight's neck. "I'm so glad you're okay, Twilight. I thought I'd lost you."

"We all did," Rarity said.

"Thanks for being there for me, you guys," Twilight said. "You're all wonderful friends."

Rainbow Dash scraped the floor with a hoof and let out an audible huff. "Now, where's that Cloud? I wanna give him a piece of my mind."

"How are you gonna do that?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Screw off the top of your skull and hand him a part of your brain?"

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Pinkie Pie, get serious."

"Um, Dash? Don't you think you've given him enough of a tongue lashing?"

"I don't know, maybe," Rainbow Dash replied. "But I'd still like to talk to him about all this."

"Well, here's your chance."

They all looked to the door as Cloud stepped inside, followed closely by Tifa and Fluttershy.

"You. I want to talk to you," Rainbow Dash said, trotting over to Cloud.

"So talk," Cloud said. "I came to see how Twilight's doing."

"Well, I've been better," Twilight said. "Cloud, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone back to help you."

"If I hadn't just sat there, you wouldn't be in this situation," Cloud said, kneeling down next to Twilight. "If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me."

"Cloud, you and I both know that there was nothing you could have done. You were pinned, unable to move. It's not your fault."

"Besides, your friends told us all about what happened to your friend Aerith," Rarity said. "What a sad story."

"Now you know why I was so concerned," Cloud said as he stood up. "I let Aerith die. I was afraid the same was going to happen with Twilight. So, how long will it take for you to get back on your...hooves?"

"The doctor said it should take her about two days before they can let her go," Spike said. "Good thing, too."

"You call two days a good thing?" Rainbow Dash snapped. "It might as well be two weeks, or two months!" She snapped her gaze back to Cloud. "And as for you-"

"Will you stop blaming him, Rainbow?" Applejack asked. "He's not the one who hurt Twilight."

"That's not what I was going to say," Rainbow Dash replied. "Look, Cloud, I'm sorry I blamed you for this."

Cloud just stared at Rainbow Dash, confused. This was the Pegasus who despised humans, blamed him for what happened to Twilight, and she was apologizing to him? That didn't seem like her.

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah, just where the hell did that come from?" Cid asked.

"Listen to me," Rainbow Dash said. "I was wrong about you. I didn't want to trust humans, but the more I thought about how you selflessly threw yourself at that other human to protect the fillies, and after hearing about your other friend who died, I realized that I had the wrong impression of you humans."

"You know what, forget about it," Cloud said. "By the way, where _are_ the fillies?"

"Sent them back to their clubhouse," Applejack replied. "They didn't need to see this."

_I'm sure they've been traumatized enough already,_ Cloud thought, _what with Sephiroth just about to kill them before I got there._

"We'd better get going," Vincent said, pushing off of the wall he was leaning against. "Twilight needs to recover, and we need to find Sephiroth."

"Go ahead, you guys," Twilight said. "I'll be okay."

"These are going to be some long two days," Spike said, wiping his eyes again.

"Don't worry, Spike," Twilight said, patting Spike on the head with a hoof. "I'll be back in the library before you know it."


	9. Bahamut

BAHAMUT

WHO WAS THIS CLOUD? HOW DID HE KNOW WHO HE WAS?

This question had been plaguing Sephiroth for the past two days. He was clearly human, and he talked as though he wasn't a native of this world. That came as no surprise; as far as Sephiroth could tell, the only beings inhabiting this world were those sentient ponies, those horses.

He was expecting this to be an easy world to terminate, but this new development had made the task slightly more difficult. Not too terribly difficult, but still challenging enough for him to enjoy. He liked a good challenge, loved it when the world had a champion to fight against him. It made the death of the world more enjoyable.

But this was more annoying than enjoyable. Since this Cloud character knew who Sephiroth was, it meant that he knew what Sephiroth could do. Perhaps there was a Sephiroth from his world.

That wouldn't surprise him; every world had a different version of every person. So far, though, this world was turning out to be the exception.

He looked at his clenched fist. Those three fillies wouldn't have made much of a dent in the population of this world, but they still would have gotten him warmed up in the destruction of this place. A warm up he was denied.

_Unless that purple horse died when I used my Thundaga magic on her._

Somehow, he doubted it. He doubted that the pony was dead, and he doubted that he would never run into Cloud again. He needed a new method of ending this world's miserable existence, but what should he do?

_That's it. A summon. But which one? Sheeva could turn this place into a frozen wasteland. And then there's Ifrit, who could burn this world to the ground._

He sat on the ground, placing his sword over his legs, and closed his eyes in deep thought.

Even though Twilight had been let out of the hospital earlier today, she was still feeling a little sore. It wasn't because she was still in pain-her wounds had almost completely healed, save for a few small burns and bruises here and there-but rather because this was the first time she'd been on her hooves in two days.

Spike had been getting anxious over the past two days, despite having the humans and the other ponies to keep him company. He had been coming constantly to check up on Twilight. It was actually starting to annoy her.

But now she was home, and after having Spike nearly tackle her to the ground when he hugged her, she was ready to get back to her daily routine; continuing her studies and sending weekly reports to Princess Celestia.

She was about to read up on alternate dimensions when the sky began to darken.

"Hey! What's going on?" Spike asked.

"I don't know," Twilight replied. "I don't think the Pegasus Ponies are calling for a storm today." She stepped outside. "No, those don't look like storm clouds."

Rainbow Dash flew past her. "Hey! Rainbow Dash! What's going on?"

"I don't know," Rainbow Dash replied. "Cloudsdale said we were supposed to have clear skies for the rest of the week."

Twilight looked back up at the clouds. Whatever was happening, she knew it couldn't be good.

Sephiroth opened his eyes; an idea had come to him.

"Bahamut."

He stood up and walked over to the edge of the cliff he was standing on. The sun was shining down on the countryside, but that would soon change.

He raised his hand to the sky. A large circle appeared, a series of smaller circles, stars, and triangles appearing inside of it. A ray of light shot out of the symbol. The sky began to darken as clouds rolled in.

Sephiroth smiled as the clouds continued to roll in, blocking out the sun. He could see the outline of the bahamut beginning to form, knowing that the end was near for this world.

_Let the massacre begin_.

_"The indulgence of their lives  
Has cast a shadow on the world  
Their devotion to their appetite  
Betrayed them all_

An apocalyptic plight  
More destruction will unfold  
Mother Earth will show her darker side  
And take her toll

It's just another way to die

There can be no other reason why  
You know you should have seen it coming  
Consequences, you cannot deny  
Will be revealed in time

Glaciers melt as you pollute the sky  
A sign of devastation coming  
You don't need another way to die  
And you can't repent in time

The time bomb is ticking  
And no one listening  
Your future is fading  
And there is no hope you'll survive

Still, you ravage the world that you love  
And the millions cry out to be saved  
Your endless maniacal appetite  
Left you with another way to die

It's just another way to die  
And you can't repent in time"

The rest of the bahamut came into view. Sephiroth watched as it flew towards the first thing it saw-the tiny village of Ponyville.

Twilight had no idea what she was looking at; all she knew was that it was big-it was easily as big as the Royal Palace at Canterlot. It resembled a full grown dragon, with its massive limbs and powerful wings; the only thing missing was the telltale snout. This particular "dragon's" snout was shaped like a bird's beak, with a square mouth underneath. Each of its legs ended with massive and insanely sharp claws.

"Uh, Twilight? What is that?" Spike asked.

"I don't know, Spike," Twilight replied. "I've never seen anything like it before."

The dragon swooped down, flying just over top of the roofs, its slipstream causing a huge wind that nearly knocked the town over. It landed on the ground and let out a loud roar.

A blue orb appeared in the dragon's open mouth as it started to fly up into the air again.

Twilight watched, fixated on the creature as it flew higher and higher. She didn't even notice the other ponies arriving.

"What in Equestria is that?" Rarity asked.

"It's one big dragon, that's what it is," Rainbow Dash replied.

The blue orb in the creature's mouth grew bigger and bigger, until finally, it threw it to the ground.

"What's it doing now?" Fluttershy yelled.

"Whoa Nelly," Applejack said. "I don't like the looks of this."

"Everypony get behind me!" Twilight yelled. She tapped into her unicorn magic and created a force field around the six of them, just as the orb hit the ground.

There was a loud boom, a giant explosion, and a wave of dust. The ponies dug their hooves into the ground, trying to keep their balance. After a moment, the dust faded away, revealing a horrific sight.

Several houses had been leveled, many others were burning. The dragon was still still in the air, descending until it hit the ground again.

Twilight lowered the force field as she and her friends looked around at the carnage. Their hearts began to sink. They'd never seen anything so terrible.

Rainbow Dash turned her attention back to the dragon. She huffed as she pawed the ground with a hoof.

"Alright, dragon," she said. "It. Is. On." She charged at the dragon. "You're going down, buster!"

"Let's go, girls," Twilight said. She and the other ponies followed Rainbow Dash, charging at the dragon.

_RATATATATATATATATATATATATATA TA!_

They stopped running towards the dragon at that sound. They looked in the direction where the sound had come from. Standing there was Barrett, his right hand now a gatling gun.

"You horses hang back, we'll handle this," he said. "Go keep Marlene safe!" He charged at the dragon.

"Uh, yeah, I think we'd better let them handle this," Twilight said. "At least until we know his daughter's safe. Come on."

"But, Twilight, that thing-" Applejack started to say.

"Don't worry," Twilight said. "I have an idea."

"Spike!" Twilight yelled when she and the others returned to her house. "Where's Marlene?"

"I'm right here," Marlene said as she peeked out from over the balcony.

"What's was that big boom, Twilight?" Spike asked.

"A really big, really angry dragon, that's what," Pinkie Pie said.

"Spike, stay here and keep an eye on Marlene," Twilight said. She turned to the other ponies. "Applejack, go get some rope so we can lasso this thing."

"Can do, Twi," Applejack said.

Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "Dash, Fluttershy, go up to Cloudsdale and rally the other Pegasi. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

"You got it, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said. "Come on, Fluttershy."

"Okay," Fluttershy squeaked. "We'll be back soon, Twilight."

"Don't take too long!" Twilight called after the two Pegasi as they flew up into the clouds.

Applejack gallopped as fast as she could back to Sweet Apple Acres. She knew she didn't have enough time, not if she wanted to help Twilight save Ponyville from that dragon. She picked up the pace, dirt kicking up from her hooves as she ran.

The farm finally came into view. She sped up even more as she passed the front gate, speeding past her brother Big Macintosh. She skidded to a stop as she reached the barn, throwing the door open and hurrying inside.

"Rope, rope, where the hay is that darn rope?!" She threw everything around, trying to find the rope she used to corral the cattle and sheep. Nothing. "Where is it? Where'd it go?" She looked back to the door as Big Macintosh entered the barn. "Big Mac, you know where the lasso rope is?"

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh said. He reached his neck up to a high shelf and pulled down a line of thick rope.

"Thanks, big brother," Applejack said. "There's a problem in Ponyville. Stay here and keep an eye on Granny Smith and Apple Bloom, okay?" She gallopped away before hearing his answer.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew to Cloudsdale as fast as they could. Cloudsdale was high in the sky, the town where the weather was created and controlled by the Pegasus Ponies. It was also home to Equestria's best flying team, the Wonderbolts, whom Rainbow Dash had been trying desperately to impress and even join.

But she had more important things to worry about right now. She didn't know how much damage that dragon was doing to Ponyville, but she didn't want to dilly-dally around anymore than she had to.

She and Fluttershy finally reached Cloudsdale. They flew to the top of a pillar overlooking all of Cloudsdale.

"Let me do the talking," Rainbow Dash said. She took a deep breath and began to speak loud enough for all of Cloudsdale to hear. "Attention, Cloudsdale! There is an emergency in Ponyville. A large dragon has appeared and is attacking the town. Several buildings have already been destroyed and the dragon is continuing its rampage, despite the efforts of our human friends to stop it. We need your help to defeat this thing. Will you help us?"

It wasn't long before they had rallied several Pegasi, some of whom Rainbow Dash recognized-Derpy Hooves, Cloudchaser, Lightning Dust, even the Wonderbolts-Flitterfoot, Soarin', and Spitfire.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy took to the air again. "Okay, team. Let's go kick some dragon derrier!"

Barrett fired his gatling gun at the bahamut, but the bullets didn't seem to be doing any damage. Bahamut took to the air and roared at him before lunging down at him, its mouth open.

Barrett dodged out of the way, just as Yuffie's giant shuriken zipped across the bahamut's face. It roared in annoyance as the shuriken flew back to its owner.

"Hey Barrett!"

"Come on, kid," Barrett said as he aimed his gatling gun at the bahamut again. "Let's dust this bitch!" He fired at the bahamut again.

They hurried out of the way as the bahamut came down, trying to stomp them into the ground. The monster roared in anger.

Cid ran up to Barrett, his spear in his hand. "So, what'd I miss, big fella?"

"One really pissed off bahamut, that's what," Barrett replied.

Several bullets pelted the bahamut's face. Barrett and Cid turned in the direction the bullets had come from. Vincent was standing in the middle of the street, his three-barrelled pistol in his hand, aimed at the bahamut.

"This bahamut is a creature of chaos," he said as he calmly walked down the street towards the bahamut, his pistol still on the monster. "Summoned by our enemy, for the purpose of death and destruction. We must stop it here before it causes even more damage to this world."

"Tell us something we don't know, Vinny!" Barrett called over to him. He got ready to shoot the bahamut again when a series of shadows flew overhead. He looked up, saw a bunch of Pegasus ponies making a bee-line towards the bahamut.

"Hey!" he yelled up to them. "If you don't want to get shot, stay back a bit!" He fired at the bahamut, as did Vincent, while Yuffie threw her shuriken and Cid threw his spear. The spear bounced off of the bahamut's thick skin and landed harmlessly on the ground.

"Oh for the love of-" Cid hissed. He hurried over and picked up his spear, but this put him in the bahamut's path. It opened its mouth and leaned down towards him, intending to swallow him whole. "Oh shit."

A rope tied itself around one of the bahamut's horns, knocking it off balance. Cid followed the rope to where Applejack was standing, holding the rope in her mouth, her hooves digging into the ground as she fought against the bahamut's brute strenght.

"I'm losing her!" she yelled through her teeth.

She dug her hooves deeper into the ground, but the bahamut won out, yanking her up into the air as it took to the sky.

"WHOA NELLY!"

The bahamut shook its head furiously, causing Applejack to lose her grip on the rope. Fluttershy caught her in midair as she fell.

"Oh, Applejack, are you alright?" she asked.

"Just dandy," Applejack replied. She winked at Rainbow Dash. "All yours, partner."

"You got it," Rainbow Dash said as she saluted. She turned to the other Pegasi. "Okay, Team One! Storm clouds, go!" One half of the group of Pegasi flew off in all directions, coming back several seconds pushing dark storm clouds. They covered the bahamut with these clouds, then started bucking them, striking the bahamut with several bolts of lightning all at once. Through the lightning strikes and thunder claps, the bahamut could be heard roaring in annoyance and pain.

Rainbow Dash turned to the remaining Pegasi. "Okay, Team Two! Tornado time, go!" She led the Pegasi into flying in a circle formation around the bahamut, forming a cyclone. The tornado sent the bahamut spinning, the debris picked up by the wind of the twister hitting the monster, only to harmlessly bounce off of its thick skin.

The bahamut dug its claws into the ground, stopping its spin. It straightened its tail, severing the tornado and sending the Pegasi flying off in all direction thanks to their inertia.

Rainbow Dash flared her wings, stopping herself, and turned back to the bahamut.

"Man, this thing's tough." She looked down to the ground, saw the other ponies hurry over to where the fight was taking place, along with Cloud and Tifa. She fluttered down to them. Fluttershy joined a few seconds later. "We're getting our butts kicked by that thing!"

"Yeah, we've dealt with a bahamut before," Tifa said.

Cloud stepped forward, taking out his sword and splitting it in two. "Leave it to me," he said.

"Where the hell you been?" Barrett snapped as he fired his gatling gun at the bahamut.

"Spare me," Cloud spat back. "Everyone get back."

He ran towards the bahamut, leaping into the air when he was close enough. The bahamut swiped at him, but he batted its hand away with one of his swords, before swiping at the bahamut. Bahamut caught the sword in its mouth.

"Damn you," Cloud hissed. He hit the bahamut with his free sword, knocking the bahamut off balance. "You're dead!" He put his swords together and swung, the impact of the blade hitting knocking the bahamut out of the sky and sending it slamming into the ground.

Cloud landed on the roof of a nearby house. He pointed his sword at the bahamut, knowing it wasn't finished just yet.

The bahamut started to fly into the sky again, a blue orb appearing in its mouth.

"It's about to use Megaflare!" Yuffie yelled.

"Damn," Cloud hissed. "I need a boost!"

"I've got you," Twilight said. "Rarity, help me out here."

The two unicorns' horns began to glow. Cloud felt like he was being lifted into the air by a crane, and a second later, he was flying towards the bahamut. He put his two swords together, never taking his eyes off of the bahamut.

The bahamut fired its Megaflare directly at Cloud. Cloud passed through the Megaflare, the extreme heat causing him to start sweating, but he didn't care.

It took him a few seconds to make it to the other side of the Megaflare and fly straight at the bahamut. He turned his sword as he reached the bahamut, its blade digging into its spine as he ran up the dragon's back. He slashed, severing the skin, muscle, and the bahamut's spine.

The bahamut let out one final roar before plummeting to the ground, dead.

Rainbow Dash watched as Cloud descended from the sky. She turned to the other Pegasi. "Get some clouds, quick!"

The Pegasi gathered as many clouds as they could, putting them together into one big cloud and put it directly underneath Cloud as he fell. He landed harmlessly on the cloud, and the Pegasi lowered it to the ground.

"Awesome job, Cloud!" Rainbow Dash cheered as Cloud planted his feet on the ground.

"But what about Ponyville?" Fluttershy asked, surveying the damage. Several buildings had been destroyed, several more were on fire. The ground had been charred, and the blood of the bahamut was soaking into the dirt.

"Sorry about all this," Cloud said. He clenched his fist. "Sephiroth. He did this. He summoned the bahamut, he destroyed your home." He stormed off.

"Cloud! Where are you going?" Tifa asked.

"Where do you think, Tifa?" Cloud shot back. "I'm going to find Sephiroth. I'm going to finish this. Sephiroth is going to die."

Cloud felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked back, saw Tifa and the others standing behind him.

"We're going with you," Tifa said.

"You think we're gonna let you do this one alone?" Barrett asked. "You got another thing coming, blondie."

"They're right," Yuffie said. "We're your friends. We're always gonna be there for you when you need us."

"And these injustices must be punished," Vincent put in.

Cid took a puff of a cigar and stomped it out. "Ah, shit. What the hell."

The ponies stepped forward. "You can count us in, too," Twilight said.

Cid chuckled. "You horses lost your god damned minds or something? Besides, remember what happened last time one of you went up against him? It wasn't pretty."

"We weren't prepared then," Rainbow Dash said. "But we will be."

"Yeah? How?" Barrett asked.

"Well, first, we have to get to Canterlot," Twilight replied. "We'll explain on the way."


	10. Elements of Harmony

ELEMENTS OF HARMONY

CLOUD WAS GETTING MORE IMPATIENT BY THE MINUTE. SURE, IT WAS A good thing this train was still running, despite the damage done to Ponyville thanks to the bahamut, but because of the battle, the train had to go the long way to Canterlot-changing tracks on the south side of Ponyville and curving around on the other side of the Everfree Forest.

Once again, Marlene had to be left with Spike; after all, this was Sephiroth they were dealing with. The coming battle was bound to be dangerous, and the fact that Sephiroth was willing to harm children didn't make the situation any better.

Cid lit a cigar-his fifth one in less than an hour-and took a puff of it. "How much longer is this damn ride going to take?" he grumbled.

"Calm down," Rarity said. "We'll get there soon."

Cid scoffed. "So what exactly are we going to this place for?"

"The Elements of Harmony," Twiligh replied. "Six relics that Princess Celestia once used to defend Equestria. Until recently, only five were known to physically exist-honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, and loyalty. It was when the Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon, came back after a thousand years, that we found the sixth element; magic."

"And you think these Elemental thingies are gonna defeat Sephiroth?" Yuffie asked.

"I know they will," Twilight said. "They haven't failed us yet."

"Well, except for that time we couldn't get to them," Rainbow Dash added. "Stupid Changelings."

For a while after that, it was quiet, the only sounds being those of the train. They watched the scenery go by, saw the smoke from the fight in Ponyville rising up in the distance, a reminder of just who they were dealing with.

Pinkie Pie finally spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Hey, I have an idea! How about we sing a song? That'll make the trip go by faster, don't you think?"

"Tell me she won't," Cloud whispered to Rarity.

"Oh, she will," Rarity replied.

And that's exactly what Pinkie Pie did.

_"Once again the world might fall prey to an ancient evil  
Once again we're hurled into darkness and great  
upheaval_

Those who can enlist, let's unite and we'll fight  
together  
We will save Equestria with the Elements forever

Come, lets fly, we'll go where the fates may take us  
through that  
dark journey, because we seem to be the only ones  
that can do that

Take your weapon and stick it in bad guys with  
evil features  
Journey toward the thicket and defeat those  
dastardly creatures

Though the villain shames us, we'll beat all his dark  
abettors  
Funny how some ponies can make the world all  
the better

Shine your light, the forces of evil can't outlast the  
Elements of Harmony that we all have mastered

Raise our heads high and cross the mountains and plains  
and oceans  
Don't forget to buy several bags full of tents and  
potions

Storm the villain's hideout and keep your courageous  
spirit  
Scream a battle cry loud enough that the bad guy can hear  
it

Finally, the hunter of souls shall be the hunted  
Now they'll see we'll save Equestria like we always  
wanted"

"Next stop, Canterlot!" the conductor called.

"See? What'd I tell you?" Pinkie Pie cheerfully asked. "Told you the ride would go by faster!"

Cloud recognized this place; it was where he ended up when he first got to this world. Everything looked the same as before, except that the streets were barren. He guessed the ponies were holed up in their homes, or off somewhere to look at the damage that had been done to Ponyville. He could still see the smoke rising off in the distance.

"Come on, you guys," Twilight said. "The Elements are this way."

She led them towards the Royal Palace, past the guards-who let them pass after Twilight convinced them that it was okay-and down the same hall where Cloud had encounted those two guards the other day.

Twilight knocked on the door at the end of the hall with her hoof. Slowly, the door opened. Twilight stepped into the room first, everyone else following close behind.

"Hey, I know that horse," Cloud said. He pointed towards Princess Celestia as she made her way over to them.

The six ponies knelt down on their front legs.

"Welcome, my little ponies," Celestia said. "But I'm afrain you've come during a dark time."

"Yes, we know," Twilight said. "That's why we're here, Princess. We need the Elements of Harmony, and you're the only one who can open the chest they're in."

"Let's make this quick," Cloud said, crossing his arms. "The longer we dilly-dally around, the less time we have to defeat Sephiroth."

"I see," Celestia said. "All of you, come with me."

She led them down another hallway, the light shining through the stained-glass windows creating sparkling designs on the floor and walls. There was only one door in this hallway, a tall double-door at the very end.

"Here we are," Celestia said. She put her horn into the hole in the doors. There was the sound of a lock opening, and the doors slowly swung open. Behind the doors was a blue chest, intricately decorated with a number of gems and protected with a single lock.

Celestia used her magic to open the chest. Inside were five necklaces and a tiara, each decorated with the same design as the ponies' cutie marks-stars, apples, butterflies, diamonds, balloons, and a lightning bolt.

"Once again," Celestia said, "Equestria needs you to take up the Elements of Harmony to defeat the darkness." She used her magic to hand the Elements to the ponies. "Go now, all of you. The fate of Equestria, and indeed the multiverse, rests on your shoulders."

"Quick question, Your Highness," Applejack said, raising her hoof. "Just where the heck are we supposed to find this guy?"

"You don't need to worry about that, Applejack," Vincent said. "He'll find us."

No sooner had Vincent said that was there a loud boom. The roof of the palace disappeared in an explosion of fire and smoke. The smoke cleared, and hovering above the palace, a single black wing protruding from his right shoulder, his sword in his left hand, was Sephiroth._  
_


	11. One-Winged Angel

ONE-WINGED ANGEL

SEPHIROTH LOWERED HIMSELF TO THE GROUND, LANDING SOFTLY, A wicked smile spread across his face.

Cloud didn't waste any time; he charged at Sephiroth, pulling out his sword and slashing at him. Sephiroth leaped out of the way and landed on what was left of the north wall.

"So impulsive," Sephiroth said.

"Shut up!" Cloud yelled. He leaped at Sephiroth. Their swords clashed, the impact of the two blades sending out a shower of sparks. They slashed at each other, each trying to get the upper hand.

Sephiroth kicked Cloud back and leaped away. Cloud quickly jumped to his feet and followed Sephiroth. He caught up to him in a matter of seconds. They locked weapons, staring at each other through their crossed swords.

"You're very skilled," Sephiroth said. "Why not join me?"

"Forget it," Cloud said as he kicked Sephiroth back. They landed on the roof of a nearby building, ready for battle again.

Cloud glared at Sephiroth. "There's no way I would ever join forces with the likes of you, Sephiroth. While I may have a dark past, I would never become like you. I'm not a genocidal asshole. I know right from wrong, good from evil, unlike you. The Sephiroth from my world was once considered a hero, before his true nature was revealed, before he slaughtered my mother and father, slaughtered hundreds of innocents, murdered Aerith. I was powerless to stop all those things, but now I can. Nobody else is going to die because of my inability!" He charged at Sephiroth.

Their swords clashed, the clang of metal on metal echoing throughout Canterlot. Cloud leaped into the air and brought his sword down at Sephiroth. Sephiroth jumped back. Cloud's sword broke through the solid stone, sending Cloud into the structure below.

Cloud shook the dust off of his head and leaped out of the hole he had created. He clashed blades with Sephiroth. Every swing was harder and more furious than the last. Cloud actually thought he was going to shatter Sephiroth's sword.

_That'd be something, wouldn't it?_

They locked weapons again.

"Your power seems to be increasing," Sephiroth said. He pushed Cloud away. "But your power won't be enough to save this world. It has already been condemned to death. Four have already fallen back into darkness. This world's time is up."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Cloud hissed. He leaped at Sephiroth again, raised his sword above his head, ready to cleave Sephiroth in two-

He felt a shapr pain go through his shoulder; Sephiroth's blade had pierced his arm. Blood trickled down the blade as Sephiroth dug it deeper into Cloud's flesh, piercing muscle and bone.

"Admit defeat, Cloud," Sephiroth said as he flung Cloud off of his sword. Cloud slammed into the ground, more pain shooting up his arm. "You have lost. This world has lost." He pulled his sword back, ready to deliver the killing blow.

"CLOUD!"

Twilight and the other ponies gallopped over to the battle, stopping just short of the two combatants. Sephiroth slowly turned around to face them.

"So, the six of you have come to meet your deaths, face to face, have you?"

"Cloud's done so much for our world," Twilight said. "Now it's our time to do what we should have done in the first place."

"Yeah, you big meanie mean meanie-pants!" Pinkie Pie added.

"You are an awful creature," Rarity said, "and you must be punished for your crimes."

"I don't really like to fight, but I have to if I want to help my friends save Equestria," Fluttershy put in.

"We're gonna buck you into next century!" Applejack challenged, scraping the ground with her hoof.

"You're going down!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

Cloud slowly stood up, ignoring the pain in his shoulder as he lifted his sword. "Look at them, Sephiroth. These six ponies are willing to give their lives to save their home world. How many of the other worlds you destroyed had people willing to die to stop you?"

"I admit, this is a first," Sephiroth said. "But it will be the last." He looked back over his shoulder at Cloud. "They die first."

"No!"

He lunged at Sephiroth, who quickly turned and deflected Cloud's attack. Sephiroth punched Cloud, knocking him to the ground.

"Wait your turn, Cloud."

Twilight pawed the ground. "Okay, Sephiroth. You're mine!" She charged for Sephiroth.

Sephiroth batted her aside. She slammed into a nearby wall and fell to the ground, her body racking with pain.

"Ow."

Sephiroth slowly made his way over to her.

"Well, my little pony, since you seem to be so eager to throw away your life so recklessly." He raised his sword.

As Cloud watched Sephiroth prepare to deliver the killing blow, the memories came flooding back to him:

_Aerith was kneeling in the center of the altar, the White Materia in her bow turning green as she prayed for the protection of the planet. Her eyes were closed as she prayed, hoping the planet would hear her cries._

_ Suddenly, Aerith felt a tremendous pain go through her body. She slumped over, saw the silver blade sticking out of her abdomen. She felt the blade pass through her organs and blood vessels and her spine as he pulled it out of her._

_ Cloud rushed over to Aerith, catching her as she fell. He felt her life leave her body. He clutched her body close, even as Sephiroth laughed behind him._

_ "Sephiroth, you bastard, how could you?" Cloud hissed. "She's slipping away."_

_ "Stop pretending you're sad," Sephiroth said. And with one last chuckle, he took to the air, and he was gone._

_ Cloud carried Aerith's still body down into the water. He watched as she sank to the bottom of the lake..._

_No,_ Cloud thought. _She got hurt by Sephiroth once because of me. I'm not going to let him hurt her again, let alone let him kill anymore of my friends!_

He took up his sword again and charged at Sephiroth. He got ready to swing, but Sephiroth jumped out of the way. Cloud followed him, leaping off the wall and heading up after Sephiroth.

"For everything that ever was," Cloud said as he reached Sephiroth. He kicked Sephiroth back to the ground.

Sephiroth hit, hard, but quickly got to his feet as Cloud landed nearby. Before Sephiroth could react, Cloud charged at Sephiroth, hitting him several times with his sword in quick succession-five, ten, fifteen, twenty times-before finishing up with a diving slash.

Sephiroth fell backwards, barely managing to stay on his feet-he had to use his sword to keep himself up. Blood fell to the ground from his wounds as he struggled to stay standing.

Cloud went over to Twilight and helped her back to her feet. "Are you okay, Twilight?"

"I'm fine," Twilight said. She glared at Sephiroth, fire in her eyes. "I've had just about enough of you. You attacked the Cutie Mark Crusaders, nearly killed me, destroyed half of Ponyville with that bahamut of yours, destroyed the Royal Palace of Canterlot, and overall terrorized Equestria! You said the other worlds you destroyed didn't even bother to try to fight back. You thought this world would be like the others. But you soley underestimated us." The five other ponies joined her. "You underestimated the Elements of Harmony."

"You're just a bunch of ponies," Sephiroth said, panting between words. "How could you hope to defeat me?"

"It's simple," Twilight said.

_"Never again will I be dishonored  
And never again will I be reminded  
Of living within the world of the jaded  
They kill inspiration  
It's my obligation  
To never again, allow this to happen  
Where do I begin?  
The choices are endless  
Denying the sin  
My art, my redemption  
I carry the torch of my fathers before me_

The thing I treasure most in life cannot be taken away  
There will never be a reason why I will surrender to your advice  
To change myself, I'd rather die  
Though they will not understand  
I will make the greatest sacrifice  
You can't predict where the outcome lies  
You'll never take me alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive

Change again, cannot be considered  
I rage again, dispelling my anger  
Where do I begin?  
The choices are endless  
My art, my redemption, my only salvation  
I carry the gift that I have been blessed with  
My soul is adrift in oceans of madness  
Repairing the rift that you have created  
I am not alone, brothers, give me your arms now

The thing I treasure most in life cannot be taken away  
There will never be a reason why I will surrender to your advice  
To change myself, I'd rather die  
Though they will not understand  
I will make the greatest sacrifice  
You can't predict where the outcome lies  
You'll never take me alive

I'm no slave  
Are you feeling brave?  
Or have you gone out of your mind?  
No more games  
It won't feel the same  
If I hold my anger inside  
There's no meaning  
My soul is bleeding  
I've had enough of your kind  
One suggestion, use your discretion  
Before you label me blind

The thing I treasure most in life cannot be taken away  
There will never be a reason why I will surrender to your advice  
To change myself, I'd rather die  
Though they will not understand  
I will make the greatest sacrifice  
You can't predict where the outcome lies  
You'll never take me alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive  
I'm alive"

A bright aura surrounded the six ponies; a beam of light shot out of each of their necklaces and Twilight's tiara. Twilight closed her eyes, and when she opened her eyes again, they were glowing a bright white.

Six beams of light shot into the air, forming together and curving towards Sephiroth. As they did so, they changed into a rainbow-with the colors of red, yellow, orange, green, blue, and purple.

The rainbow slammed into Sephiroth, who cried out in pain.

"How could I be defeated by a bunch of ponies?!" he yelled as the rainbow enveloped him.

When the rainbow disappeared, Sephiroth was nowhere to be seen. The only sign he had been there was the puddle of blood on the ground.

The light faded from around the ponies, as did the light from Twilight's eyes. They looked to the spot where Sephiroth had been, saw only the blood.

"We did it," Rainbow Dash breathed. "We beat him!"

"Holy shit," Cid said, staring in disbelief at what he had just seen. "Taste the rainbow, motherfucker."

Cloud walked over to where Sephiroth had been. He looked to the sky.

_And this time_, he thought, _stay dead._


	12. Friendship is Magic

FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC

THE SCIENTIST HAD BEEN TRYING TO FIX THE MACHINE FOR THE BETTER part of a week. As far as he could tell, whatever caused the machine to malfunction before was due to faulty wires. They had to be replaced, and that had taken nearly three days.

Now the machine was fixed, looking good as new, but he wasn't getting his hopes up, not until he knew he could bring them home.

He checked the machine's hard drive again. It was a long shot, but perhaps the hard drive still held the coordinates for whatever dimension they had been sent to.

_Yes, there they are. The same coordinates._

All he had to do now was start the machine up and bring them home.

Once the Elements of Harmony were back in the chest, Celestia put it back on its pedistal and locked the door.

"Once again, the Elements of Harmony have come through for all of Equestria," she said. "Thank you, everypony, for all you have done."

"Don't just thank us, Your Highness," Twilight said. She indicated the humans. "They deserve some credit, too."

"You're right, Twilight Sparkle," Celestia said as she turned to the humans. "For all you have done, I thank you. Equestria is forever in your debt."

"What else were we supposed to do, let Sephiroth kill everyone?" Cloud asked.

"Hey, not like I want to cut this little celebration short," Barrett said, "but I gotta go check up on Marlene. You know, let her know her dad's okay."

"Of course," Celestia said. "And thank you all again."

Marlene leaped into Barretts arms as soon as he opened the door. They held each other close.

"Daddy, you're okay! I was worried."

"No need to worry, kiddo," Barrett said. "Ain't nobody getting rid of your dad any time soon."

Cloud crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes, thinking hard. He thought about everything that had happened since they'd arrived in this world-getting separated; meeting the ponies; bahamut; the fights with Sephiroth. When they first came here, none of that was on the agenda. The only reason they had come here in the first place was to get Marlene and take her home, and now that they had found her, all they had to do was wait for Shinra to open a portal leading back home.

_And who knows how long that will take._

He felt something on his leg. He opened his eyes, saw Rainbow Dash nudging him with her snout.

"Hey Dash. What's up?"

"I just wanted to say, good job up in Canterlot," Rainbow Dash said. "I mean, seriously, that was awesome! The way you were-" She did a karate chop with her hoof. "HYAH! Kicking that guy's butt all over the place. I've never seen anything like it!"

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," Cloud replied. "I don't plan on doing it again any time soon, especially in this world."

"Speaking of which," Spike said, "when do you think you'll be able to go back?"

"Why? In a hurry to get rid of us?" Yuffie asked.

"No, I was just wondering, that's all," Spike replied. "What, I'm not allowed to ask a simple question?"

"We have to wait for a portal to open in our home world," Vincent said. "And who knows when that will be. It could take a very long time."

As soon as he said that, there was the sound of the air being torn open. A swirling mass appeared, another portal, and on the other side they could see the pristine clean walls of Shinra's science lab.

"Or, it could take two seconds," Cid said. He flashed Vincent a thumbs-up. "Good timing, Vinny."

Cloud stepped towards the porta. He put his hand out towards it. For a moment, he considered jumping through, leading his friends back home, leaving this world behind him.

So why was he hesitating?

_Maybe, in defending this world, I've become accustomed to it. Maybe, just maybe, part of me doesn't want to leave. In my world, all there is is sadness and death, the dark memories of my past. But in this world, there's innocence, a kind of innocence I haven't seen in a very long time. I guess I've started to become a little attatched to this place._

"Cloud? Are you okay?" Tifa asked, snapping Cloud back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Cloud replied. "Just...reflecting, that's all."

Barrett lifted Marlene into his arms and stepped towards the portal. "Well, this was fun and all, but we got out own world to get back to."

"Wait, Daddy," Marlene said. She wiggled out of Barrett's arms and ran back to the ponies, taking them all in one big hug. "You're all good friends. I'm going to miss you all."

"We'll miss you too, Marlene," Twilight said. "Now go on. That portal won't stay open forever."

Marlene wiped the tears away from her eyes. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

"Hey, maybe we'll bump into each other again someday, kid," Rainbow Dash said. "What do you say?"

"Maybe," Marlene replied.

"Hey, Marlene! We gotta get going!" Barrett called.

"I'll be right there, Dad," Marlene said. "Well, goodbye, my little ponies." She joined Barrett, and together, they stepped through the portal.

Yuffie stepped up to the portal. "Later, taters!" she called as she leaped into the portal.

Cid took a puff of a cigar. "Ah, shit, can't believe I'm doing this again. Well, Geronimo!" He jumped into the portal.

Vincent stepped up to the portal, taking a second to turn back to the ponies. "Good luck," he calmly said as he turned and stepped through.

"You coming Cloud?" Tifa asked as she stepped up to the portal.

"Yeah, in a minute."

"Well, don't take too long," Tifa said. "Don't know how long this thing will stay open." She waved to the ponies. "Bye." And with that, she turned and stepped through the portal.

Cloud stared at the portal, before turning away and looking out at Ponyville. Though he didn't know why, he felt some sort of connection with the small town, and by extension, Equestria as a whole.

"Everything okay, Cloud?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah," Cloud said. "I just-I don't know. Part of me doesn't want to leave. But I also know that this isn't where I belong. I have to go back, but I don't want to. I felt happiness and innocence for the first time when I got here, the first time in a long time. I don't want to leave, especially since I've found some new friends. But I know that I have to leave. I have to go back home."

Twilight walked up to Cloud and rubbed her head against his side. The other ponies joined her, forming a circle around Cloud.

"We don't want you to leave, either, Cloud," Rarity said, her eyes glistening with tears.

"But if we think about each other every now and then, we'll never forget each other," Pinkie Pie said. "After all, we are friends. I even wrote a song about it."

_"Sometimes friends have to leave_

_It's sad but true_

_But this we do believe_

_They stay a part of you_

_And if you go away_

_To live some other place_

_We will think of you each day_

_And see your smiling face_

_And we will always be your friends_

_No matter where you are_

_Just around the bend_

_Or very, very far_

_Wherever you will go_

_When you reach your journey's end_

_No matter what_

_We'll always be your friends_

_We will always be your friends_

_Although we're far apart_

_We'll see you in our dreams_

_And feel you in our hearts_

_And though the years may fly_

_We know we'll meet again_

_And when we do_

_W still will be your friends_

_We'll always be_

_Your truest friends"_

"Now go on," Twilight said. "Your other friends are waiting for you."

Cloud wiped his eyes of the tears that were forming. "Yeah. You're right." He turned to the portal. Slowly, he walked over to it, taking a moment to look back at the ponies. "Take care of yourselves," he said, before turning and stepping through the portal. As soon as he had stepped through, the portal closed.

Twilight wiped the tears away with her hoof. "Spike!" she called.

"Right here, Twilight," Spike said, peeking out from the study.

"Take a letter, Spike. To Princess Celestia."

"Be right there," Spike said. He came out of the study, a scroll and ink quill in his hands. "Okay, Twilight, ready!"

Twilight cleared her throat. "Dear Princess Celestia, over the past week, we all learned something about friendship. We learned that you don't have to live in the same area, or even the same world, to be close to your friends. Just as long as you think about your friends every now and then and never forget about them, they will always be with you. Just another reason why friendship truly is magic. Sincerely, your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle."

THE END


End file.
